- Civil rights attorney Ben Crump responded to the guilty verdict of the Ahmaud Arbery trial.
- A Georgia jury found Travis and Gregory McMichael and William Bryan guilty on Wednesday.
- Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed while on a jog in his neighborhood in February 2020.
National civil rights attorney Ben Crump says the 3 men convicted for Ahmaud Arbery's murder "can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul."
Arbery, a 25-year-old unarmed Black man, was jogging in his neighborhood when he was chased and fatally shot in February 2020. His death was a catalyst for mass antiracism demonstrations across the United States last year.
On Wednesday, after hours of deliberation, a Georgia jury found father and son, Travis and Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor William Bryan guilty of felony murder in Arbery's killing.
"Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. After nearly two years of pain, suffering, and wondering if Ahmaud's killers would be held to account, the Arbery family finally has some justice," Crump, who represents the Arbery family, said in a statement Wednesday.
"Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul," he added.
Travis McMichael, 35, fired the shot that killed Arbery; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, pursued Arbery in his pickup truck alongside his son; and William Bryan, 52, joined the McMichaels in their pursuit and filmed the encounter, as Insider reported.
—Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) November 24, 2021
"This case, by all accounts, should have been opened and closed...the violent stalking and lynching of Ahmaud Arbery was documented on video for the world to witness," Crump said. "But yet, because of the deep cracks, flaws, and biases in our systems, we were left to wonder if we would ever see justice. Today certainly indicates progress, but we are nowhere close to the finish line."
At a press conference in Brunswick, Georgia following the guilty verdict, Crump said that although the family received justice, they are still devastated by their loss.
"I would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge even though we are clapping and we are cheering and we applaud, Wanda and Marcus still are devastated because they are missing Ahamud," Crump said. "Even though this is not a celebration, it is a reflection to acknowledge that the spirit of Ahmad defeated the lynch mob."