I’m sure most of y’all have heard about this: in closing arguments, one of the defense attorneys said to the jury:

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"Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails"

This just seems so over-the-top - in a case where 3 men chased and killed another who was unarmed and had committed no crime they could point to other than looking around inside a house under construction (which, BTW, a white couple had also done during the same time period). And this was said in front of the deceased man’s mother.

After ruminating over this a few days, I find it hard to believe that the defense lawyer was seriously trying to raise racial animus against the Arbery. Not impossible to believe, but really? In 2021?

I almost think they were trying to angle for a mistrial, or leave an opening for the defendants (if convicted) to ask for a new trial, saying their legal team misrepresented them.

Any other takes?

BTW, in trying to find the link about a white couple checking out the same house under construction, I couldn’t find it using a Google News search of “White couple had been inside same house under construction arbery”. (Turns out in retrospect the story was there, but third down, with no accompanying text).

But on Bing, it came up as the first search item. I’m no fan of MSFT, but this is not the first time I found these kind of links on Bing but not Google. Not alleging any conspiracy here, but I keep it in mind if Google doesn’t come up with what I remember I read recently.

Edit: actually, the first 4 search items on Bing were the story I was looking for. With bits of the search phrases in bold.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2021 08:17AM by pdq.

I’ve heard of this type of rhetoric as invoking ‘runaway slave’ imagery for a jury with the right profile.

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I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Victims 'deserved it because xxx' is a long standing scummy defense tactic.

Just waiting for "Well he was covered in blood after I shot him, so I figured he had done something bad."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2021 09:44AM by cbelt3.

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Blankity Blank
I’ve heard of this type of rhetoric as invoking ‘runaway slave’ imagery for a jury with the right profile.

But seriously: in 2021?

"Look at the way she dressed and acted, she was just asking to be raped."

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e pluribus unum

When I heard her say that, I was shocked, appalled and very angry. It was the worst kind of victim blaming I had heard in a long time.
As I told my husband, I can’t even count the number of times I have gone wandering through houses under construction around where I live. You can’t just go around chasing and shooting people for that. WTF?
That area around Brunswick is known to be corrupt and with their own interpretation of what the law is. If you look up Glynn county, you can find other heinous miscarriages of justice. Read this, if you want to see just how bad it is down there, and there are other examples, too. It’s crazy town.

[investigations.ajc.com]

I don’t think this would never have gone to trial if the video hadn’t come to light. The fix was already in. The DA that got fired also needs to face some stiff charges for trying to cover it up.
It just makes me sick.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

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rgG
It just makes me sick.

Well, today Georgia did better than Wisconsin. Just my personal opinion.

I was watching some of the prosecution final summation on Court TV and the prosecutor did a pretty good job of cutting this tactic down. She referred to it as "criminal defense 101" or something like that, and pointed out the various stages of defense 101. It went something like this:

No crime was committed
A crime was committed but our client didn't do it.
The victim was actually to blame.
The victim deserved it.

And so on . . .

This reminded me of the musical Chicago, where the accused women sing "He had it coming."

One question to ponder: Is this a death penalty state (I would assume so) and are they asking for a death penalty against any of the defendants, particularly the shooter? I would assume that all 3 murderers (I can use that term now that the verdict is in) are subject to life in prison in any case.

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Ca Bob
I was watching some of the prosecution final summation on Court TV and the prosecutor did a pretty good job of cutting this tactic down. She referred to it as "criminal defense 101" or something like that, and pointed out the various stages of defense 101. It went something like this:

No crime was committed
A crime was committed but our client didn't do it.
The victim was actually to blame.
The victim deserved it.

And so on . . .

This reminded me of the musical Chicago, where the accused women sing "He had it coming."

One question to ponder: Is this a death penalty state (I would assume so) and are they asking for a death penalty against any of the defendants, particularly the shooter? I would assume that all 3 murderers (I can use that term now that the verdict is in) are subject to life in prison in any case.

The prosecution was not seeking the death penalty.
GA is a death penalty state.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

I am against the death penalty in principle. Many innocent people have been put to death.

even though there is no doubt about the crime committed here and we have video evidence, I am still agains the death penalty. they should die a slow death in prison. Give them time to reflect on what they did.

I missed the details about what the 3rd guy did. I know the father and son started the chase and the 3rd guy was the one who actually took the video, but did he get involved in the fight with the victim?

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space-time
I am against the death penalty in principle. Many innocent people have been put to death.

even though there is no doubt about the crime committed here and we have video evidence, I am still agains the death penalty. they should die a slow death in prison. Give them time to reflect on what they did.

I missed the details about what the 3rd guy did. I know the father and son started the chase and the 3rd guy was the one who actually took the video, but did he get involved in the fight with the victim?

It was sufficient that he was involved in the overall attempt to chase Arbery down and detain him. This the basis for the crime of "felony murder"

[www.justia.com]

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Under the felony murder rule, however, a defendant can be convicted of murder even if the defendant did not act with intent or a reckless indifference; the prosecution must show only that the defendant participated in a felony where fatalities occurred.

CA relaxed its felony murder law so that one gets to participate in a crime that involves murder unless they actually kill or intend to kill or is otherwise a major actor in the crime.

If the murder victim is law enforcement, then everybody gets charged with special circumstances murder.

I disagree with that.

Everybody should always get charged.

Law enforcement shouldn't be the exception.

The exception should be the guy driving the car as in the TV trope.

'Hey, pull over so I can grab a six-pack' and then there are shots fired and the passenger scream 'GO GO GO!'

So the driver doesn't get the needle, chair, chamber, guillotine, blown from a gun, etc.

But he does get life.

If only.

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And hope is a lousy defense.

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