Criminal Law
Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers Are Convicted of Federal Hate Crimes
The three white men convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting were found guilty of federal hate crimes Tuesday in a verdict that affirmed what family members and civil rights activists said all along: that he was chased down and killed because he was Black.
The verdict — handed down one day before the second anniversary of Arbery’s death on Feb. 23, 2020 — was symbolic, coming just months after all three defendants were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court and sentenced to life in prison.
But family and community members viewed the hate crimes trial as an important statement. The case also became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after graphic video of Arbery’s killing leaked online.
