Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Another Step Forward In Seeking Justice': 3 Men Indicted With Murder Of Black Jogger Ahmaud Arbery
Three white men arrested last month in the slaying of a Black man who was gunned down as he jogged through a suburban neighborhood in Georgia four months ago were indicted on Wednesday on murder and other charges. Video footage showing the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, in the coastal Georgia town of Brunswick emerged on social media and went viral in May, some 10 weeks after his death, stoking public outrage at the lack of arrests at that time. (McKay, 6/24)
Prosecutor Joyette Holmes announced Wednesday that a grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William 鈥淩oddie鈥 Bryan Jr. on charges including malice and felony murder in Arbery鈥檚 death. 鈥淭his is another positive step, another great step for finding justice for Ahmaud, for finding justice for this family and the community beyond,鈥 Holmes said at a news conference outside the Glynn County courthouse in Brunswick that was streamed online by news outlets. (Brumback, 6/25)
If convicted on the murder charges, the defendants would face a minimum of life in prison and could face a death sentence. 鈥淭his is another step forward in seeking justice for Ahmaud,鈥 said Joyette M. Holmes, the district attorney in Cobb County, who was specially appointed to handle the case. 鈥淲e will continue to be intentional in the pursuit of justice for this family and the community at large as the prosecution of this case continues.鈥 (Witte and Brice-Saddler, 6/24)
鈥淭his is another step forward in seeking justice for Ahmaud,鈥 Ms. Holmes said in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淲e will continue to be intentional in the pursuit of justice for this family and the community at large as the prosecution of this case continues.鈥 Although most courts in Georgia remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the district attorney鈥檚 office said it was able to present the case on Wednesday under a judicial order that allowed grand juries that are already impaneled or are recalled from a previous term to assemble. (Siddiqui, 6/24)
Mr. Arbery, 25, was spotted in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, outside of Brunswick, Ga., while running on a Sunday afternoon. A surveillance camera showed that Mr. Arbery stopped for a few minutes inside a house under construction before resuming his jog. Gregory McMichael later told the authorities he thought Mr. Arbery was a suspect in a series of break-ins in the neighborhood. He and Travis McMichael armed themselves, they told the police, got into a pickup truck, and tried to catch Mr. Arbery. Mr. Bryan, who is known as Roddie, also gave chase in his vehicle, a state investigator said, and used his cellphone to film the killing of Mr. Arbery. (Fausset, 6/24)