May 12, 2020 — Washington, D.C. – Gregory McMichael (a former Glynn County, GA police officer and district attorney’s office investigator) and his son, Travis McMichael, killed Armaud Arbery on February 23rd, just a few months shy of his 26th birthday. The emerging facts paint the picture of a young black man hunted like an animal as he jogged not too far from his home near Brunswick, GA.
Suspecting a robbery afoot, the McMichael’s clan grabbed a .357 Magnum handgun and a shotgun as they hastily pursued Mr. Arbery in their pickup truck. As they approached Mr. Arbery with their guns, an altercation ensued. The confrontation ended in bloodshed with Arbery dying at the scene, bleeding out in the street from shotgun wounds. It took the Georgia District Attorney’s office an appalling 73 days to bring any charges against the men who killed him.
The National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division vociferously calls for the resignation of Georgia District Attorney George Barnhill, on the grounds of gross neglect of duty and failure to arrest the killers and the cameraman, an accessory to Arbery’s murder.
While we commend the heroic and inspiring actions of Attorneys Benjamin Crump and Lee Merrit, and applaud the collective voices like yours that led a path toward justice, these efforts offer no solace to the endless pain of a life lost unjustly. Far too often in America, we continue to survive these instances, only to watch similar events continue to unfold in our communities time and time again.
We must fight to repeal controversial laws like “Stand Your Ground” and “Citizen Arrest”. Originally intended to protect the citizens of the states that employ them, instead these laws now too often legitimize violence against people of color with impunity.
The graphic video of the barbaric killing should stir outrage in the hearts of all Americans who witness it. The footage conjures images of racist lynch mobs from an obviously not-so-distant Southern past. The ghosts of that shameful chapter in America’s history continue to haunt the family of Mr. Arbery, and us all.
