WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
Following a two-week trial, three Georgia men were convicted today by a federal jury in the Southern District of Georgia for committing hate crimes and attempting to kidnap Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was jogging on the public streets of a Brunswick neighborhood. Two of the men were also convicted of charges that they used firearms during that crime of violence.
Travis McMichael, 35; Travis’s father, Gregory McMichael, 65; and William “Roddie” Bryan, 51, were each convicted of one count of using force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Mr. Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race.
In addition to the hate crime charges, the defendants were found guilty of attempted kidnapping. Finally, Travis McMichael was found guilty of using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a Remington shotgun in the course of the hate crime, and Gregory McMichael was found guilty of using, carrying, and brandishing a .357 Magnum revolver.
“Today’s verdict (Feb. 22) makes clear that the Justice Department will continue to use every resource at its disposal to confront unlawful acts of hate, and to hold accountable those who perpetrate them,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Although we welcome the jury’s verdict, the only acceptable outcome in this matter would have been Mr. Arbery returning safely to his loved ones two years ago. No one in this country should have to fear the threat of hate fueled violence. No one should fear being attacked or threatened because of what they look like, where they are from, whom they love, or how they worship. And no one should fear that if they go out for a run, they will be targeted and killed because of the color of their skin.”
Evidence at trial revealed that on Feb. 23, 2020, defendants Travis and Gregory McMichael armed themselves with a Remington shotgun and a .357 Magnum revolver, respectively, and chased Mr. Arbery. The pursuit passed by the home of defendant William “Roddie” Bryan, who did not know Mr. Arbery, but decided to get into his own truck to join the McMichaels in their pursuit of Mr. Arbery. For four to five minutes, the three defendants pursued Mr. Arbery through the neighborhood and tried to box in Mr. Arbery with their trucks. During the chase, Mr. Arbery was running with his hands empty and in plain view. He never spoke a word to the defendants, and never made any threatening sound or gesture; rather, he repeatedly tried to run away from the defendants.
Ultimately, after Mr. Arbery had already changed direction multiple times, trying to escape from the defendants, Travis McMichael got out of his truck and pointed a shotgun directly at Mr. Arbery. When Mr. Arbery tried to defend himself, Travis McMichael shot him in the chest. Mr. Arbery, wounded, grabbed for the gun. During a struggle over the gun, Travis McMichael fired two more shots into Mr. Arbery, who then stumbled a few steps and fell face-first onto the pavement, where he died in the street.
Evidence at trial revealed that the defendants had strongly held racist beliefs that led them to make assumptions and decisions about Mr. Arbery that they would not have made if Mr. Arbery had been white.
The evidence at trial proved that race formed a but-for cause of the defendants’ actions on Feb. 23, 2020, meaning that, without that factor, the defendants would not have chased down a Black man whom they assumed, without evidence, was a criminal.
All three defendants face sentences of up to life in prison.
All three defendants were previously convicted in a separate state trial with felony murder and multiple other felonies for their roles in Mr. Arbery’s killing. The McMichaels were each sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; Bryan was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
The announcement was made by Attorney General Garland, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney David Estes of the Southern District of Georgia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Philip Wislar of the FBI.
This case was investigated by both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Lyons of the Southern District of Georgia, and Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein and Special Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Perras of the Civil Rights Division.
U.K. ENDING COVID RESTRICTIONS
EUROPE
After months of lockdowns and strict regulations, one nation has had enough of COVID life.
On Feb. 21, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech to Members of Parliament. During the speech, he made some key announcements about a long term plan for the United Kingdom to deal with COVID-19. While doing so, he wished Queen Elizabeth a speedy recovery, as the monarch herself is recovering from the virus, not long after her son Prince Charles had it.
“…While the pandemic is not over, we have now passed the peak of the Omicron wave, with cases falling, hospitalizations in England now fewer than 10,000 and still falling, and the link between infection and severe disease substantially weakened.
“Over 71 percent of all adults are now boosted in England, including 93 percent of those 70 and over, and together with the treatments and scientific understanding of the virus we have built up, we now have sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition from protecting people with government interventions to relying on vaccines and treatments as our first line of defense.
“As we have throughout the past two years, we will continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations as they decide how to take forward their own plans, and today’s strategy shows how we will structure our approach in England around four principles.
“First, we will remove all remaining domestic restrictions in law.
“From this Thursday, February 24, we will end the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test, and so we will also end self-isolation support payments, although Covid provisions for Statutory Sick Pay can still be claimed for a further month.
“We will end routine contact tracing, and no longer ask fully vaccinated close contacts and those under 18 to test daily for seven days.
“And we will remove the legal requirement for close contacts who are not fully vaccinated to self-isolate.
“Until April 1, we will still advise people who test positive to stay at home. But after that, we will encourage people with Covid-19 symptoms to exercise personal responsibility, just as we encourage people who may have flu to be considerate to others…
The plan covers four main pillars:
· Removing domestic restrictions while encouraging safer behaviors through public health advice, in common with longstanding ways of managing other infectious illnesses
· Protecting the vulnerable through pharmaceutical interventions and testing, in line with other viruses
· Maintaining resilience against future variants, including through ongoing surveillance, contingency planning and the ability to reintroduce key capabilities such as mass vaccination and testing in an emergency
· Securing innovations and opportunities from the COVID-19 response, including investment in life sciences
The public is still encouraged to continue to follow public health advice, as with all infectious diseases such as the flu, to minimize the chance of catching Covid and help protect family and friends. This includes by letting fresh air in when meeting indoors, wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces when coming into contact with people and washing hands.
W.H.O. UNHAPPY WITH VACCINE OUTREACH
WORLD
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) top official in Europe on Feb. 15 called on governments and health authorities to “closely examine” why there is low demand and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, as an “Omicron tidal wave” slams countries in the east of the region.
Over the past two weeks, cases of the virus have more than doubled in six countries across Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belaurus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, said WHO Regional Director, Dr. Hans Kluge.
“As anticipated, the Omicron wave is moving east – 10 eastern Member States have now detected this variant,” he added.
For the eastern nations experiencing the wave, vaccination remains the best defense, he said, but less than 40 percent of those over 60 in Ukraine, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, have had a full course of shots.
“I call on governments, health authorities and relevant partners to closely examine the local reasons influencing lower vaccine demand and acceptance,” the top WHO official said, “and devise tailored interventions to increase vaccination rates urgently, based on the context-specific evidence.”
Dr. Klug called for four measures authorities need to take, to bring COVID “full under control” and end the acute phase of the pandemic in Europe.
· Maximize vaccine coverage, paying particular attention to those groups where uptake has been poor; coupled with vaccine sharing across borders.
· Help people to minimize the risk to themselves and others, through frequent self-testing, financial and other support for self-isolation, and wearing masks when mixing with other people indoors.
· Scale up access to effective antivirals and other evidence-based treatments in all countries.
· Support health systems to reduce the backlog of treatment resulting from the pandemic and as they plan ahead for a growing burden of so-called ‘Long COVID.’
“These critical actions apply to east and west alike,” the top WHO official concluded.
