Page 27 - bon-dia-aruba-20220110

A27
u.s. news Dialuna 10 Januari 2022

Hate crimes trial in Arbery killing will put racism up front

shotgun. at a technical college and was victim was killed with malice
preparing to study to become or during the commission of
The Feb. 23, 2020, killing an electrician like his uncles. another felony.
just outside the port city of
Brunswick became part of a “They killed him because he Regardless, issues of race
greater national reckoning on was a Black man,” Arbery’s loomed large in the mur-
racial injustice when the vid- father, Marcus Arbery, told der trial over Arbery’s death.
eo leaked online two months reporters outside the Glynn The McMichaels and Bryan
later. Though an investiga- County courthouse Friday. weren’t charged with crimes
tor testified at a pretrial court in the Black man’s killing un-
hearing that Bryan said he Lee Merritt, an attorney for til the shooting video became
heard Travis McMichael ut- Arbery’s mother, said it’s public two month later.
ter a racist slur as Arbery lay important for federal case to
dying in the street, state pros- expose racist motives behind Defense attorneys during the
ecutors never presented that the killing because “there is trial contended the men pur-
(AP) — Sentenced to life uled jury selection to begin information to the jury dur- an issue of race taking place sued Arbery because they rea-
in prison for murder, the in the three men’s second ing the murder case. in this country. It has come sonably believed he had been
three white men who trial in U.S. District Court. front and center and it needs committing burglaries in the
chased and killed Ah- And evidence of racism that That evidence should be key to be discussed.” neighborhood. Travis McMi-
maud Arbery will soon state prosecutors chose not to in the federal trial, where the chael took the witness stand
stand trial on federal hate present at the murder trial is McMichaels and Bryan are Georgia Bureau of Investiga- to testify that he opened fire
crimes charges in which expected to be front and cen- charged with targeting Ar- tion Agent Richard Dial testi- in self-defense after Arbery
jurors will have to decide ter. bery because he was Black. fied in June 2020, more than a ran at him and tried to grab
whether the slaying of the year before the state trial, that his shotgun.
running Black man was An indictment last year At a hearing Friday, Supe- Bryan told investigators he
motivated by racism. charged father and son Greg rior Court Judge Timothy heard Travis McMichael say Defense attorneys said they
and Travis McMichael and Walmsley sentenced both “f----ing n---er” after shoot- planned to appeal the convic-
The sentences imposed by their neighbor, William McMichaels to life in prison ing Arbery. Attorneys for Tra- tions for murder and other
a judge Friday in Glynn “Roddie” Bryan with vio- with no chance of parole. The vis McMichael have denied state crimes within 30 days.
County Superior Court con- lating Arbery’s civil rights judge sentenced Bryan to life he made the statement.
cluded the state of Georgia’s when they pursued the run- with a possibility for parole Superior Court Judge Timo-
criminal case in the slaying of ning man in pickup trucks once he’s served 30 years. State prosecutors and inves- thy Walmsley called the kill-
25-year-old Arbery, in which and cut off his escape from tigators never mentioned ing “callous” and noted that
a jury returned guilty verdicts their neighborhood. Bryan Despite those severe penal- that during the murder trial. when Arbery fell bleeding
the day before Thanksgiving. recorded cellphone video of ties, Arbery’s family said the Georgia law doesn’t require in the street the McMichaels
the chase’s deadly end, when hate crimes case remains im- establishing motive to con- “turned their backs, to give
A month from now, on Feb. Travis McMichael blasted portant. At the time of his vict someone of murder. It a disturbing image, and they
7, a federal judge has sched- Arbery at close range with a death, Arbery had enrolled merely requires proving a walked away.”A

Watershed moment in NYC: New law allows noncitizens to vote

(AP) — More than 800,000 now begin drawing an im- never-passed DREAM Act
noncitizens and “Dream- plementation plan by July, or the Deferred Action for
ers” in New York City will including voter registration Childhood Arrivals program,
have access to the bal- rules and provisions that which allows them to remain
lot box — and could vote would create separate ballots in the country if they meet
in municipal elections as for municipal races to pre- certain criteria.
early as next year — af- vent noncitizens from cast-
ter Mayor Eric Adams al- ing ballots in federal and state The first elections in which
lowed legislation to au- contests. noncitizens would be al-
tomatically become law lowed to vote are in 2023.
Sunday. It’s a watershed moment for
the nation’s most populous “We build a stronger democ-
Opponents have vowed city, where legally document- racy when we include the
to challenge the new law, ed, voting-age noncitizens voices of immigrants,” said
which the City Council ap- comprise nearly one in nine former City Councilmember
proved a month ago. Unless of the city’s 7 million voting- Ydanis Rodriguez, who led stop the bill from becoming tive dialogue with colleagues.
a judge halts its implemen- age inhabitants. The move- the charge to win approval law, the 30-day time limit
tation, New York City is the ment to win voting rights for for the legislation. for the mayor to take action Former Mayor Bill de Blasio
first major U.S. city to grant noncitizens prevailed after expired at the stroke of mid- had similar concerns but did
widespread municipal voting numerous setbacks. Rodriguez, who Adams ap- night. not move to veto the measure
rights to noncitizens. pointed as his transportation before vacating City Hall at
The measure would allow commissioner, thanked the
More than a dozen commu- noncitizens who have been mayor for his support and Adams said he looked for- the end of the year.
ward to the law bringing mil-
nities across the U.S. already lawful permanent residents expects a vigorous defense lions more into the demo- Opponents say the council
allow noncitizens to cast bal- of the city for at least 30 days, against any legal challenges. cratic process. lacks the authority on its own
lots in local elections, includ- as well as those authorized to to grant voting rights to non-
ing 11 towns in Maryland work in the U.S., including Adams recently cast un- “I believe that New York- citizens and should have first
and two in Vermont. “Dreamers,” to help select certainty over the legisla-
the city’s mayor, city coun- tion when he raised concern ers should have a say in their sought action by state law-
Noncitizens still wouldn’t be cil members, borough presi- about the monthlong resi- government, which is why makers.
I have and will continue to
able to vote for president or dents, comptroller and public dency standard, but later said support this important leg- Some states, including Ala-
members of Congress in fed- advocate. those concerns did not mean islation,” Adams said in a bama, Arizona, Colorado and
eral races, or in the state elec- “Dreamers” are young im- he would veto the bill. statement released Saturday Florida, have adopted rules
tions that pick the governor, migrants brought to the night. He added that his ear- that would preempt any at-
judges and legislators. U.S. illegally as children While there was some ques- lier concerns were put at ease tempts to pass laws like the
The Board of Elections must who would benefit from the tion whether Adams could
after what he called produc- one in New York City.