In this case, the prosecution is saying that the three men demonstrated “malice aforethought” when they illegally chased Arbery through the streets in pickup trucks and shot him. HOW CAN THERE BE FIVE MURDER COUNTS WHEN ONLY ONE PERSON DIED? The person must be convicted of the underlying felony to be found guilty of felony murder. Implied malice is when the there is “no considerable provocation” and the circumstances of the killing “show an abandoned and malignant heart,” which essentially means the person has acted with extreme recklessness even if there was no intent to kill, said Georgia State University law professor Russell Covey.įelony murder applies when someone who has no plans to kill intentionally commits another felony and a person dies as a result. Malice murder is when a person “unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.” No evidence of premeditation is required.Įxpress malice involves an intent to kill. Neither requires prosecutors to prove an intent to kill. Unlike many states, Georgia doesn’t have degrees of murder, but instead has malice murder and felony murder. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MALICE MURDER AND FELONY MURDER? All three defendants are white.Ī nine-count indictment charges all three with one count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan recorded cellphone video as he joined the pursuit.
ATLANTA (AP) - Jurors in the trial of the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery must decide whether one or all of them is guilty of murder - a conviction that could send them to prison for the rest of their lives.įather and son Greg andTravis McMichaelgrabbed guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after seeing the 25-year-old Black man running in their neighborhood in the Georgia port city of Brunswick in February 2020.