CPA is gratified that the members of the jury, in the Ahmaud Arbery case, recognized their obligations and held those individuals accountable.

The Capital Pride Alliance is gratified that the members of the jury in the case of the defendants who murdered Ahmaud Arbery recognized their obligations and held those individuals accountable for their heinous crimes. The jurors refused to let the defendants evade their responsibilities by attempting to shield themselves, first by claiming a “citizens arrest” and then by asserting that they were entitled to self-defense. Although this verdict did not directly implicate questions of race, it is clear that the genesis of this crime was racial animus on the part of the defendants and that this prejudice continued to infect a number of aspects of the defense case, none of which appeared to adversely affected the jury. Finally, this verdict, seen in its proper context, is a step towards a more perfect Union, but should not be mistaken for some indication that we have already arrived there.