Justice and Ahmaud Arbery
Social media slammed the criminal justice system two weeks ago. With the arrest of the McMichaels 10 days ago in Brunswick, Georgia, the internet’s ire turned toward the District Attorneys (DA) who evaluated the case. Others turned on the attorney who released the video.
The tragic killing of Ahmaud Arbery that prompted this social media storm highlights the flaws inherent in the criminal justice system. DAs hold broad authority to charge, that is indict or accuse, anyone charged with a crime. With Grand Juries on hold in Georgia due to the pandemic, the potential for Indictment quickly evaporated.
The larger question, though, loomed: why were the McMichaels not arrested immediately? A young man lay dying on the ground and these two walked free. That result is uncommon in my almost 20 years’ experience within the system. DAs evaluate cases and determine whether to the prosecute. Since the advent of the internet and the high level of data now available through computer programs, most cases find their way to indictment or accusation, no matter how thin the evidence might be. The numbers and the data drive the decisions. The police and law-and-order type voters expect crimes to be prosecuted and “bad guys” put in jail, and DAs tend to defer to the popular opinion rather than seeking to find truth in each individual case before formally charging it.
The failure to arrest these two men caught on video no doubt confounded those in the community where the victim lived. Caught on video taking a life: how could that go uncharged? Did the DA analyze the case and determine that a local jury would acquit? That a local judge would find self-defense and dismiss the case? One wonders. Or was the decision made based on the relationships? Or perhaps on the fact that this young man had some minor criminal history shifted the balance in the DA’s mind? We cannot see into the head of another person.
Ultimately, the release of the video prompted closer inspection. Are the rumors true that local police wanted to arrest but were stymied? Time will tell. Is the attorney who released the video subject to any ethical concerns? What I know is this, after spending day after day hearing about lesser injustices that compound in my mind and working to combat them with little assistance from the law or from the process, I can imagine that a horror of this magnitude, unanswered by the State, would cause one to consider seeking a spotlight for the situation.
Bringing this case into the sunlight affords these men due process — due process that Ahmaud Arbery will never receive on the allegations made against him. The GBI and a judge found probable cause to believe that murder happened. Due process, though, lacks the straight-forward trajectory popular culture presents. Motions will be filed. Arguments will be made. In the end, a jury may decide whether these men are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A jury will hear both sides — a jury in a red part of a red state.
Ahmaud Arbery deserves justice. The perpetrators will receive due process, justice. The question remains: is justice the same for both sides?
