Joe Biden demands justice for unarmed Georgia black man 'killed in cold blood' by two white men
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday, May 6, reacted to a video concerning the murder of a black man in late February, saying it was a cold-blooded murder. The man, Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was jogging through a residential neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23 when Gregory McMichael, a former police officer, and his son Travis appeared to chase and shoot at him. Gregory and Travis suspected Arbery as a suspect in a string of break-ins that happened in recent times and they started chasing him in their pickup truck.
Prosecutors previously refused to file charges against Gregory and Travis but after a graphic footage showing the fatal shooting of an unarmed Arbery surfaced on social media late Tuesday, May 5, a prosecutor in the Peach State said he would present the case to a grand jury for consideration of charges against the two men behind the alleged killing.
Attorney Rebecca Kavanagh said it was only after the 32-second video, which was taken on a mobile phone by a witness in another car, got publicized that the prosecutor decided to bring the case before a grand jury. A local radio host posted the video in which Arbery was seen falling down after two shots were heard firing from point-blank range.
Tom Durden, the Georgia prosecutor assigned to examine the case, said it should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County, refused to comment Tuesday when asked if he could verify that the video showed Arbery getting shot.
“I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr Arbery,” Durden said in a statement.
Arbery and his family deserve justice, says Biden
Attaching a post made by CNN over the decision of the Georgia prosecutor, Biden said in a tweet: “The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood," Biden tweeted late Tuesday (May 6).
“My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder,” the 77-year-old former vice president said. Biden, who served under the USA' first black president in Barack Obama, is a frontrunner in the black community in the run-up to this year’s presidential election.
Biden himself is facing a rape accusation from one of his former Senate aide named Tara Reade who claimed in late March that the presidential candidate sexually mistreated her while they were alone, way back in 1993. Biden broke his silence on the issue on May 1 saying nothing of that sort had happened. Though he has been supported by a number of Democrats, including women, the opponents have accused the Dems of being hypocrites.
Arbery’s family lawyer Lee Merritt called the incident a “murder and lynching”. “Mr Arbery had not committed any crime and there was no reason for these men to believe they had the right to stop him with weapons or to use deadly force in furtherence of their unlawful attempted stop,” a statement from Merritt, who represents Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper, said.
The grand jury will not happen for more than a month since Georgia courts are largely closed because of the coronavirus until at least the middle of June.