GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. released a statement just days after the final verdict in the death of Ahmaud Arbery trial.
Broady Jr.'s, statement is a reflection on the verdict's impact not just on Arbery's family but the state and nation at large, placing it in the context of an ongoing discussion on division and hate in our nation's history.
Arbery's mother and father are also signaled out in the statement, and commended for their courage and faith during the entire trial.
The full statement can be read below:
The jury representing the Glynn County community made a clear statement in finding the three men guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. That statement reflects a new direction for our communities, this State, and the nation, to denounce hate, division and intolerance and promote unity. This case has garnered national attention, recalling attention to a past, this nation yearns to forget. It is important that we never forget. That we look at our past and map a new way forward. That we understand our prior shortcomings and work to the goal enumerated in our founding documents, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" and may we add Justice. In order to do that it takes strength and courage, to demand the rights entitled to us by our Constitution and laws.
The courage demonstrated by Wanda Cooper Jones is an inspiration to us all. She demanded accountability for the death of her son, Ahmaud. She placed her faith in God and our criminal justice system that this day would come. I applaud her and Ahmaud’s father, Marcus. Their work has been more than a step towards justice for communities of color. Governor Kemp and the Georgia Legislature amended Georgia’s antiquated Citizen’s Arrest Statute and for the first time enacted a Hate Crime Statute here in Georgia, all due to advocacy for justice for Ahmaud.
The citizens of this state and this nation stood with Wanda and Marcus and their family. We, the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, stood with them. We were determined that each of the defendants were given a fair trial and I believe we did that. Our team of lead prosecutor Senior ADA Linda Dunikoski, Senior ADA Paul Camarillo, ADA Larissa Ollivierre and a host of others from our office worked tirelessly to ensure justice for this family. We held firm to the belief that our criminal justice system works. When you remove the hate, the intolerance and divisiveness and focus on truth, integrity, and unity that justice will prevail.
Arbery, 25, was gunned down while he was jogging through a residential neighborhood in Glynn County near Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020, after a white father and son tried to stop him because they said he looked suspicious. But his death wouldn't gain national attention until months later in May, when a graphic cell phone video showing that deadly encounter surfaced online.
The handling of the case is also a significant part of why it has caused a national outcry.
Former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson reportedly had the video of Arbery's death months before it surfaced publicly and, according to an indictment earlier this year, is accused of ordering police not to arrest Travis McMichael. Gregory McMichael was a long-time employee of the DA's office. The father and son are two of the three men charged with Arbery's murder.
As a result, Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes would be assigned to lead the case against a Brunswick father and son. District Attorney Flynn Broady, Jr. would then take over once he was elected to office.
On Tuesday, a Glynn County decided the three men who chased down Ahmaud Arbery in their pickup trucks before shooting him, Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, William 'Roddie' Bryan, guilty on more than a dozen counts including murder.