Jonathan Allen

(Reuters] – On Monday, a prosecutor in Georgia was scheduled to explain to a Georgia jury that Ahmaud Albery’s three accomplices had no legal right to hold him.

Gregory McMichael (65), Travis McMichael (35) and William “Roddie Bryan (52) have pleaded guilty to murder charges.

Linda Dunikoski, the prosecutor, is likely to draw attention to inconsistencies between testimony and first statements made to police. She will also question the legitimacy of defendants’ claims that Arbery (a 25-year old Black man) posed a threat.

McMichael, the younger McMichael testified that he shot his gun at Arbery at close range in self-defense. He claimed Arbery was holding onto his weapon after a chase of five minutes through Satilla Shores (a mostly white area) on February 23, 2020.

Bryan captured the crime on his cell phone and two months later, the video was published online. It caused outrage.

McMichael said that his father and McMichael believed Arbery was behind the recent thefts. Arbery has not been found to have taken anything during his trips through Satilla Shores.

Arbery was found with only his sneakers and running clothes when he died. Cobb County District Attorney’s Office says the defendants believed the worst about Arbery who, according to his friends, was an avid jogger.

Each defense team will then make its final arguments, before deliberations begin.

The defendants argued they had the right to attempt to arrest Arbery in accordance with Georgia’s citizens’ arrest law. This was later repealed after outrage about the murder.