Two Trials, Two Verdicts
Two polarizing court cases were decided within days of each other. In Georgia, a nearly all-white jury found three men guilty in the murder of Ahmad Arbery. Three co-defendants were found guilty of charges ranging from malice murder to false imprisonment and could face life in prison.
In early 2020, the defendants pursued Arbery, while armed and in pickup trucks, as he jogged through a suburban Georgia neighborhood leading to a deadly confrontation. The trial garnered worldwide attention and put the state’s citizen’s arrest and stand your ground laws under increased scrutiny.
Why did the video taken by the defendants play such an important role?
INSTRUCTORS: click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Videos:
News Articles:
The uncomfortable truths hidden inside the Ahmaud Arbery verdict
Politico
11/24/21
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/24/uncomfortable-truths-ahmaud-arbery-verdict-523374
What were the charges, what could be the sentences in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery?
USA Today
11/24/21
3 men found guilty of felony murder and other crimes in fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery
NBC News
11/24/21
Lawyers left racism out of the trial over Ahmaud Arbery’s death. Here’s why.
Vox
11/24/21
https://www.vox.com/22801394/racism-ahmaud-arbery-murder-trial
News Articles (Analyses):
Ahmaud Arbery trial verdict: Travis McMichael guilty on all counts
Fox News
11/24/21
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ahmaud-arbery-trial-verdict
Here’s what legal experts say helped acquit Kyle Rittenhouse
CNN
11/20/21
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/19/us/legal-experts-what-helped-rittenhouse-acquittal/index.html
Acquitted and in demand, Rittenhouse ponders what’s next
Associated Press
11/24/21
Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal sparks protests across US
ABC News
11/20/21
https://abcnews.go.com/US/kyle-rittenhouse-acquittal-sparks-protests-us/story?id=81299021
Assessment:
Writing: Explain why the prosecution in Georgia was successful in securing a conviction of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers where others, in similar cases, have failed. Did the prosecution in the Rittenhouse trial mishandle the case?
Debate: Should ordinary people have the power to make citizen’s arrests or should it be limited to professional law enforcement?
Poll: Do open carry and stand your ground laws encourage vigilante justice?
Short Answer: Describe the role that video played in the case of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse?
QUIZ:
How many different prosecutors took the lead in Ahmaud Arbery murder case?
a. six
b. fifteen
c. two
d. four
How did Georgia lawmakers respond to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery?
a. they repealed the stand your ground law
b. they significantly curtailed gun rights in the state
c. they dramatically weakened the citizen’s arrest law
d. they sought pardons for the men accused of killing him
Wisconsin law says that someone acting in self-defense does not have a duty to ______.
a. retreat
b. offer first aid
c. fire a warning shot
d. take firearm training
The killing of Ahmaud Arbery occurred after the killing of George Floyd. (T/F)
Kyle Rittenhouse could still face civil lawsuits for the death of two people at his hands in Kenosha. (T/F)
Kyle Rittenhouse had a much-publicized meeting with President Biden. (T/F)
