It sure felt like a lynching. There was no noose but those three White men chased Ahmaud Arbery, a jogger who had done nothing, and they cornered him — I feel anxiety just writing that phrase — and even though he was unarmed, they shot and killed him. They lynched him and I want to cry when I think about how terrified and traumatized Arbery must have been in his last moments, his jog turning into running for his life.
Before we can say that in this case the justice system did its job we must note that the justice system tried to avoid doing its job. When this case first came to the prosecutor’s attention they did nothing. They aided in the coverup. It’s only after video of Arbery’s murder was leaked that the justice system was forced to act. And was forced to confront a set of facts so damning that even White privilege in the Deep South wasn’t enough to save these three. Imagine that.
