#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Three White Men Guilty for Murdering Ahmaud Arbery

Episode Date: November 25, 2021

11.24.2021 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: A South Georgia jury of 11 whites and one black found three white men guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan all face minimum life sentences in prison.#RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Verizon | Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, now available in 50+ cities, is the fastest 5G in the world.* That means that downloads that used to take minutes now take seconds. 👉🏾https://bit.ly/30j6z9INissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPAmazon | Get 2-hour grocery delivery, set up you Amazon Day deliveries, watch Amazon Originals with Prime Video and save up to 80% on meds with Amazon Prime 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ArwxEh+ Don’t miss Epic Daily Deals that rival Black Friday blockbuster sales 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iP9zkv👀 Manage your calendar, follow along with recipes, catch up on news and more with Alexa smart displays + Stream music, order a pizza, control your smart home and more with Alexa smart speakers 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ked4liBuick | It's ALL about you! The 2022 Envision has more than enough style, power and technology to make every day an occasion. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iJ6ouPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com#RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Tonight is Wednesday, November 24th, 2021. Coming up on the special edition of Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. The three white racists who lynched Ahmaud Arbery all found guilty today in Georgia. We will hear from one of the family's attorneys, Lee Merritt. We'll also talk with Transformer Justice Coalition. They've been there day one standing with this family, plus our expert legal panel. Folks, it is time to bring the funk on RoboBot and Unfiltered on the Black Star Network, he's got the truth, the fact, the fine

And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rollin', best believe he's knowin' Puttin' it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin', yeah, yeah It's rock-a-roll-a-roll, y'all Yeah, yeah, yeah It's rollin', Martin, yeah, yeah, it's Uncle Gro-Gro-Yo Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah, yeah, rollin' with Rollin' now

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's funky, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know He's Rollin' Martin now Martel Martel Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. Every single time the judge in the case of the three white men on trial for lynching Ahmaud Arbery said guilty. It was applause ringing out all across the country as Justice for Ahmaud actually took place today in Glynn County, Georgia. Again, where those three men are going to spend the rest of their lives in prison. Don't forget, they're also facing a federal hate crimes trial in early 2022. We're going to have a full breakdown on the show.

We're going to play you a little bit later the actual reading of those charges, excuse me, of the jury's decision by the judge. But a couple of my guests, they're on their way to the airport. They've been there on the grounds. I want to get right to them. Let's go to Daryl Jones, who is the chair of the Transforming Justice Coalition. Barbara Arnweiss, she's the president of the president the transformative justice coalition glad to have both of you uh daryl and barbara y'all have been on the ground they are standing with this family y'all

have been leading these protests every single thursday and i just got to get to just your initial reacting your reaction uh to again these guilty verdicts uh this juror this 11 white drawers one African-American sit down today in Georgia especially for the Ahmad Arbery family just think about what those parents have gone through with those uncles aunts cousins all the relatives have gone through, with those uncles, aunts, cousins, all the relatives have gone through for over a year, almost two years of suffering. So I am so delighted that there's finally peace, as they actually said,

that now they feel that Quez Ahmad can actually rest in peace. But I also want to really thank, you know, Reverend Jesse Jackson, thank, you know, Reverend Jesse Jackson, thank Reverend Bishop Barber and thank, you know, all those activists. Right, Daryl, who just came from all over. But it is a symbol. This case is that if you really fight hard, which is what this family did, they never stopped rolling. They never stopped fighting when they were told lies by the prosecutor. Even when the prosecutor, as we know, covered up for these white vigilantes. Even when they second prosecutor did the same thing,

they never stopped fighting. And I just want people to know that this victory would not have happened but for the family being so insistent, persistent, and never giving up. Darren, go ahead. I'm sorry. Yeah, and she's absolutely right, Merlin. One of the big things we know that has come from this case is that this was a family that was not even going to attend the trial. They didn't think there was any reason for them to attend the trial because they were going to do what they wanted to have done anyway. So, you know, for them to be there, for them to show up was a major coup,

and it was a benefit to the country because what happened was that the family, the Arbery family, showed the country what it means to get involved in a case. It's because of them that Jackie Johnson, the prosecutor that started this case, was voted out of office. It's because of them that she's standing for trial now. And I tell you, Roland, and I tell everyone this, this was just the first step in justice for Armand. We still have that federal hate crimes trial to go, and we have the prosecution of Jacqueline Johnson to go before total justice is received in this case. And the Transformative Justice Coalition will be there for every trial, including the sentencing of the McMichaels and Bryant.

The point that you made there, I think, is critically important. And that is it took a whole lot to get to this point. Had the system just ran by itself, there would have never been a trial. There would never have been an indictment. And so it was the protest. It was the call to action. Remember, Breonna Taylor came first. Then it was this case here that bubb bubble to the national. And then the release of that video tape by the attorney of one of the men convicted, they thought that that release was going to exonerate him, but it was the release of that video that actually caused the Georgia Brewer investigation

to get involved. And so that's really what we're also seeing. Well, I think what we're seeing is an awakening of the Brownswick community, especially the Black community. There is a difference. When we first came here the first March, we did on October the 17th.

We had some people from Brownswick, but it was mainly the people, the activists, the 100 activists that we brought in to really drum up support for the family. But now the Arbery family have become these incredible organizers, and they are now leading those marches.

And today we actually watched the community lead the march. And it was just beautiful because that's what you want. I mean, every community has to be empowered to seek and to fight for justice. So what I also want people to really understand is that for those 74 days that it took them to prosecute, you got to understand that Marcus Arbery, William Arbery, Gary Arbery, Ruby Arbery, they went down there to that courthouse, to the prosecutor's office almost every single day.

They never, ever gave up. They never took okie doke or anything else for an answer. And they threw that prosecutor out of office by the write right in campaign. Yeah. And Barbara's absolutely right, Roland, that, you know, it was the Arbery family that really served as the catalyst behind all of this, because at any point in time, you know, Amanda Cooper Jones and Marcus Arbery are just amazing. They were just, you know, their gracefulness in court, everything that it took for them to stand and to sit and to pay attention to what was going on. You know,

they, along with Bing Crump and Lee Merritt, they were just, you know, just phenomenal with regards to their commitment, their dedication. You know, when they saw us out marching in the street, you know, Marcus led marches. His brothers were there with them. His sisters were there with them. You know, and the thing that people really need to remember or know that they may not know that in Brunswick, Brunswick is the poorest jurisdiction in the state of Georgia, the poorest. So jobs are scarce.

So for people to get involved and to come out, was to risk their employment, to risk their financial resources that they had. So it was significant for the family to come together, to encourage the community to come out. And, you know, we really look forward to seeing where the community goes from here and watching it continue to build. And I tell you this, and I say this constantly, this is what we saw the defense attorneys doing, all this nastiness, trying to kick the transformative justice coalition out of court, off the courthouse grounds, trying to kick the Black pastors out of the courtroom, trying to remove Wanda Cooper Jones from the courtroom for weeping because of her son being killed. This is what they did when

the lights were on and the nation was watching. We can only imagine the cases that have come here where there has not been that attention and what has been going on in those courtrooms. But we're going to find out because we're going to be holding hearings here in Brunswick with regards to with regards to Jacqueline Johnson and everything that's been happening in this county. Absolutely. Well, look, I know y'all have been there on the ground doing the tireless work. You've got a plane to catch, so we don't want to hold you up. We certainly appreciate both of you joining us. Congratulations. Give our best to the Aubrey family. And again, a nation has stood with him throughout this whole ordeal. And as you said, it's not over. And so the fight for justice continues. That's right. Thank you. Thank you

for your coverage, because it took the Black media. Remember, Kevin Goff actually filed a motion against the black media saying the black media was intimidating jurors. I mean, just unbelievable. So it took your presence also. So thank you so, so much. All right. We surely appreciate it. Barbara on one. Thanks a lot, folks. This was the moment today when all eyes were fixated on this particular moment when the judge read the jury's decision in this case. All right. I'm going to go ahead and address each one of these verdict forms separately. First verdict form I have is the state of Georgia versus Travis McMichael. Mr. McMichael, please stand. Verdict is as follows. In the Superior Court of Glynn County, state of Georgia, state of Georgia versus Travis McMichael, case number CR000433. Jury verdict form.

Count one. Malice murder. We, the jury, find the defendant, Travis McMichael, guilty. I'm going to ask that whoever just made it out first be removed from the court, and I expect as much from the gallery. Please respect the court's desire for this as we move forward. If you feel like you need to make a comment or otherwise demonstrate with respect to the verdict, I do ask that you step out of the courtroom now. Count two, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Travis

McMichael guilty. Count three, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Travis McMichael guilty. Count four, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Travis McMichael guilty. Count five, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Travis McMichael guilty. Count six, aggravated assault. We, the jury, find the defendant, Travis McMichael, guilty. Count seven, aggravated assault. We, the jury, find the defendant, Travis McMichael, guilty. Count eight, false imprisonment. We, the jury, find the defendant, Travis McMichael, guilty. Count nine, criminal attempt to commit a felony. We, the jury, find the defendant, Travis McMichael, guilty. Dated this 24th day of November 2021, signed by the foreperson.

As to Gregory McMichael, in the Superior Court of Glynn County, the state of Georgia versus Greg McMichael, case number CR00433. Jury verdict form. Count one, malice murder. We, the jury, find the defendant, Greg McMichael, not guilty. Count two, felony murder. We, the jury, find the defendant, Greg McMichael not guilty. Count two, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count three, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty.

Count four, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count five, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count five, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count six, aggravated assault. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count seven, aggravated assault. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count eight false imprisonment. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. Count nine criminal attempt to commit a felony. We the jury find the defendant Greg McMichael guilty. This 24th day of November 2021 signed by before

as to William R. Bryan in the Superior Court of Glynn County, state of Georgia, state of Georgia versus William R. Bryan case number CR200433 jury verdict form. Count one malice murder. We the jury find the defendant William R. Bryan not guilty. Count two, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant William R.

Bryan not guilty. Count three, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant William R. Bryan guilty. Count four, felony murder. We the jury find the defendant, William R. Bryan, guilty. Count four, felony murder. We, the jury, find the defendant, William R. Bryan, guilty. Count five, felony murder. We, the jury, find the defendant, William R. Bryan, guilty.

Count six, aggravated assault. We, the jury, find the defendant, William R. Bryan, not guilty. Count seven, aggravated assault. We the jury find the defendant William R. Bryan not guilty. Count seven, aggravated assault. We the jury find the defendant William R. Bryan guilty. Count eight, false imprisonment. We the jury find the defendant William R. Bryan guilty. Count nine, criminal attempt to commit a felony. We, the jury, find the defendant, William R. Bryan, guilty. Signed this 24th day of November by the foreperson. Folks, again, that was a powerful, powerful moment today. Lee Mayard is one of the family attorneys for the Aubrey family family let me know if Lee has rejoined us, there he is

Lee glad to have you here that was Marcus Arbery who let out that initial exhortation there in the courtroom and look that was a daddy who had a lot of pent up anger and rage

and I know the judge had his We've had a lot of pent up anger and rage. And I know the judge had his rules for the quorum. But Marcus, look, he needed to hear guilt. That's right. Yeah, I don't blame him at all. You know, normally we want to do our best to make sure that we're holding up the quorum of the courtroom. We still have a dissencing phase ahead of us. But Marcus Arbery was not only facing targeting in that court by the defense table, not only that the man sitting feet away from him murdered his son,

but he's lived in Glynn County his entire life and he's had to deal with the racism and bigotry that is, you know, rooted into the culture there. And for him to get a guilty verdict, it was so much pressure released. I don't even think he knew that he made a sound because he sat right back down and he was waiting to hear more when they asked him to leave the courtroom. Absolutely. Lee, one of the things that people are asking,

talking about the sentencing phase, many have asked, why weren't these three facing the death penalty? So what and so can you can you shed light on that? Explain to the audience what's going on there. I can't. Unfortunately, it's a it's going to be a question that's unique to Georgia state law. I'm a federal civil rights attorney. And so I'm not completely familiar with Georgia's death crime statute. I do know what it's worth. Wanda Cooper Jones said these men deserve the death penalty. She was told that there was not an option. I'm sure it was

explained to us when these men were indicted a year ago, but I'm not sure why death wasn't on the table. One of the things that we have been focusing on is that were it not for the release of that videotape, we're actually not here. It took massive protests. You had one DA who frankly tried to help these men. Then you had a second DA who pretty much wrote up a document offering a full-throated defense and telling cops not to arrest him. This case exposed, when we talk about institutional racism, this was it. This was men who committed a heinous crime who should have been held accountable, but because of white privilege, because of blue privilege, because of nepotism that existed,

they were able to avoid accountability for over two months. And yet, without the release of the video, that at that point, they had become so emboldened that they were bragging about that video. They were sharing it in their circles, and somebody came up with the genius idea to share it with a public radio station. And we're grateful for that dumbass mistake because they got us here today. Well, look, it certainly has been a very difficult moment here. For the audience, has a date been set when they're going to be sentenced? The court has not set a date. They're going to be checking their schedule. The next date that we have on our calendar is December 20th, which is the first appearance in federal court in Savannah, Georgia, for these men who are now facing hate crime charges as well. And also, and just again, people are asking, they were taken into custody after

at the end of the courtroom today, correct? Yeah, to the praise of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the GBI, these men have been in custody since, it took 74 days for them to be arrested, but they have not seen a free day since they were arrested back in 2020. And they've been in custody.

All right. Lee Merritt, we certainly appreciate it, man. Thank you so very much. I know you've got a plane to catch as well, so thanks for joining us. Thank you, brother. Talk to you soon. All right, folks. Got to go to break. When we come back, our expert legal panel will break down this entire case. It was a whole lot that went on here to even get us to this point, and so we look forward to having their expert analysis. That is next right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. I know a lot of cops,

and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus

King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback.

Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position, pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. I'm going to go. Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become their hug. Betty. Settle in kids. You'll be there a while.

Where are you going? ДИНАМИЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА Hey! All right, folks, welcome back to Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Let's go right to our stellar legal panel. Joining me today, Attorney Scott Bolden, Attorney Monique Presley, also Attorney Robert Jane. Glad to have all three of you here. I know y'all have been itching to wait in. A lot of people, a lot of folks, Monique, just did not trust the system. People were saying, man, I don't know, 11 white jurors, one African-American, not sure.

But when the verdict was read by that judge, it was very interesting to see the reaction from people all across the country commenting, really saying, thank you, justice was indeed served. You're muted.

Monique, you're muted. Thank you, Scott and Roland. All that time and you're muted. All right, go ahead. I prefer to call it accountability because justice is things like this not happening. Justice is Ahmad being home with his mother and his father and his family for Thanksgiving but the justice system worked and a right outcome was reached because the case was tried almost flawlessly by these prosecutors and the judge did his job. And when the jury was handed the facts and the law, they made what really were the only decisions to be made.

And I think they judged it correctly, even on the counts where they did not find guilty. But yes, people were apprehensive, scared, cynical, did not believe at all that it would happen, thought maybe the jury would hang because of the one black person on the jury. And with good reason, they are cynical about our justice system

because it has worked for people who are majority, soon to be minority in our country. It has worked for largely white males, and it has not worked for black and brown folks, not the way that it's supposed to. So many times people think that laws should be changed, that the jury system needs to be abolished. No, it all just needs to work the same way for everybody. I'm not saying that those things shouldn't be looked at, but I'm saying one of the majority, the power majority in this country who are getting off after committing heinous crimes or not even being charged appropriately.

You've seen some of that lately in the recent probation sentences and home detentions for felonies, for rape and for assault. So I don't blame the public for not being sure what was going to happen today, but I am as persuaded as ever that when prosecutors do their job and when judges do their jobs and the evidence goes to a jury, that the jury can be led to where it's supposed to go. Scott, on that particular point Monique makes there, in terms of the prosecution doing their job, I was reading some comments earlier and individuals. And so what do you make of the job the prosecution did of staying on point and rebutting every single moment that came from these defense attorneys, even when they threw out racism in this trial? Well, I think the prosecutors did a good job of keeping it plain, keeping it simple, if you will.

Just like Monique said, it was a very practical prosecution, if you will. And they stayed on their theme. They didn't let race get involved, but they didn't react to every race-based decision or comment by the defense. They left that hang because they couldn't get into the whole race question, in my opinion. You got to remember, you're in Brunswick, Georgia. White people are still uncomfortable with the race question in the courtroom and outside of the courtroom. Now, if this was a race baiting case or this was a bias case like the federal case will be, no question you've got to sort through that.

But there was no need here. If you juxtapose this prosecution team and this case with how the case in Rittenhouse was handled, it was like night and day. The judge was very professional. The prosecutors kept it simple. There was no flash or dash with them. They knew what they had to do. They laid out the law. They laid out the facts to support the law. And they didn't make it complicated. They did not sway from the facts. And then what they did in very layman's terms, they made it plain to the jury so the jury could follow. I knew they were going to come back with a verdict today. At least I thought they were because nobody wanted to come back after Thanksgiving, one.

But two, they only had one question. They wanted to see the video again. So they had to do some convincing of maybe one or two people in the jury room. But this was a very practical prosecution of the right thing to do. And then really quickly, lastly, I'm disappointed that we all have a sigh of relief. Monique is right. This should have been a no brainer.

And think about it, how God is so good. This was 74 days without that video, we still wouldn't be here. That's amazing. Well, what does that say? What does that say, Robert, that it takes the protest, it takes the video, it takes all of that to get to this point And the reality that people, they're like, look, they don't trust this legal system. It has not always worked out well for black people,

even when there have been overwhelming evidence. Well, what it shows is that, you know, the jury system is made up of people, right? And people bring all their imperfections, all their racism, all their idiosyncratic views and all of that stuff into the box. And so our system is imperfect. It may be the best in the world, but it's yet imperfect. And it has a very imperfect history when it comes to Black folks in this country. It has not worked for us. And people were right to be anxious and to be concerned about whether

or not it was in fact going to work for the Arbery family and the rest of Black America in this case. You know this was, look remember we started off, Monique, dealing with how race was at the forefront, not just in terms of what took place in him being chased out and lynched, but the jury selection, where the judge even agreed that racism was at play in the striking of black jurors. And so that it was always present, it was always there. But I would love to get your assessment as well of the job of the prosecution in this case.

Yeah, that lead prosecutor, is it Radinsky? She's a badass. That's literally the exact same wording my dad used. He said, that Linda? He said, Linda? He said, she a bad ass. She is. 100%.

And I watched her close and I really just haven't seen, not since Chauvin, which is another, you know, and I don't call prosecutions flawless hardly ever. I'm just defense to the bone. But when they execute in this manner and get the job done and she when she said to that jury if if you don't find citizens arrest and she said it's up to you if you decide there was or there

wasn't but if you decide there wasn't then you have to find guilt because that means they were the provokers that means they weren't in jeopardy or danger that means they were the provokers. That means they weren't in jeopardy or danger. That means they have no justification or excuse for the false imprisonment, for the detainment, attempted detainment on another street. And so that made it to me very easy for the jury to do the job they needed to do. And throughout, all three of them did their job well. But to piggyback on what Scott said about the way they didn't allow the racism to be the thing that sent them down

the rabbit hole, and they didn't pick it up like their own shiny carrot and wave it around, because the job of the prosecutor or any lawyer is to know your jury. And that's why lots of times when you go out and you get some big fancy lawyer from another jurisdiction to come in, it doesn't work on the defense side or on the prosecution side because you have to know that area. You have to know their sensibilities. You have to know the things that they can handle hearing in their faces. And you have to know the things that they know it's happening, whether you spell it out for them or not. And so I agree with what Scott said about

perhaps these jurors not being ready to deal with head on in the face. These, who knows who they were? They might be some critical race theory is the devil jurors. They might be some, if he had been committing crime, he deserved what came to him jurors. They might've been some never talked to a black person until I had to deal with this one black person for the past two weeks, jurors, we don't know. And that is more likely than not. And so for a prosecutor to say, but here are these facts, and here is this law. And no matter what you think about those other things, this is what we are expecting you to apply. And so they did that. And it was a huge juxtaposition to the defense attorneys who were forget about dog whistles they were standing on their heads they were standing on top of tables they they may as well have just said nigger nigger

nigger nigger nigger and said he deserved to die because that is what in essence their defense was all about it was yeah they might have done something wrong, but it was a black guy. Yeah, they might have done this wrong, but he was running down the street. You know, if he was running down the street, he had to be up to something. Yeah, we can't prove that he was actually committing a felony or that he even intended to commit a felony. But come on. I mean, they were just aiming for some sort of okie doke. And I believe that they went too far, that the comments that they made, the comments about the toes, the comments about, you know, knowing about our community and keeping our community safe, all of that might have

offended the sensibilities to jurors who otherwise may have been predisposed to assume that because Ahmaud was black, that he did something wrong. Yes. See, Roland, here's the beautiful thing. Scott, Scott, Scott. Hold on one second. Hold on one second. I'm going to go to commercial break. We're going to come back. I want you to make that point. I also want to come back. We're also going to hear from the Arbery family when they commented after the jury reached their verdict. Folks, you're watching the special edition of

Roller Martin Unfiltered. We were not supposed to be live today. I gave the staff off, but of course, when this verdict came down, we made that decision, so we improvised today. So that's why we're here. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Blackstone. Alexa, play our favorite song again. Okay. I only have eyes for you.

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No problem. Since you think you're bigger you said bigger man okay yeah yeah and i'll never forget one night we uh two of the guys the driver got lost i think it was westbury with the plan and i'll never forget um we asked they asked him if he didn't mind going on first and we would close out. And he came back and said, he said, no. I give him his props. He took it like a man.

It was rough out there. By the time he would come out, you could hear echoes. Wow. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them.

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I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. Here's the deal. Plus on Apple Podcasts. a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position, pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. All right, folks, welcome back to Roller Martin Unfiltered here on the Black Star Network. We're talking about the jury's verdict in the case of the three white racists on trial for the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery. They were found guilty today.

This is the Arbery family. This is what they had to say after court today. I want to give all glory to God. Because that's who made all this possible. Number two, I want to thank his mama. And I want to thank my sisters and brothers. I want to thank my children for being strong through this rough time. Because I know it was hard what they had to deal with. And number two, I want to thank all y'all people, all the support y'all gave us.

One of us even did this. Ain't no one side did this. God put us all together to make this happen. So ain't no one side. That's all I tell you. God don't work one side. God work two sides. I'm going to put you here. I'm going to put you happen. So there ain't no one side. That's all I'm going to tell you. God don't work one-sided. God work two-sided. All right, I'm going to put you here.

I'm going to put you there. So y'all pull together and work this thing. So hey, that's what it's all about. Because if one side wouldn't work, it wouldn't have happened. You had people working when you weren't working. Come on. When you weren't working, you had people out here working, marching, going to these offices. We conquered that lynch mob. We got that lynch mob. That's history today. I just want to say thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank each and every one

of you who fought this fight with us. It's been a long fight. It's been a hard fight. But God is good. Yes, he is. Early in, I never saw, to tell you the truth, I never saw this day back in 2020. I never thought this day would come. But God is good.

Yes, he is. And I just want to tell everybody, thank you. Thank you for those who marched, those who prayed, most of all the ones who prayed. Yes, Lord. Thank you, God. Yes, Lord. Thank you.

And now Quez, which you know him as Ahmad, I know him as Quez. Yes. He will now rest in peace. Amen. Thank you. I know him as Quez. He will now rest in peace. Amen. That was a mother and father of Ahmaud Arbery. Scott, can you answer the question

that people are asking, why these three were not facing the death penalty? Is it still an option? That's what folks want to know. Yeah, I can. I know the answer. I think you just got done talking i think it's my turn even though i was going to compliment but you don't know the answer but i digress i digress the bottom line is you can get the death penalty in the state

of georgia under certain circumstances but the prosecutor has to ask for it in this case the prosecution has not asked for it and that would be something they would have to ask for it. In this case, the prosecution has not asked for it. And that would be something they would have to ask for early on before we tried the case. I've never seen them ask for it after a conviction, but that's fundamentally why. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Monique, is that correct?

Yes, he's right. Is that correct? Are you second guessing me? Are you that correct? Are you second-guessing me? Are you kidding me? Robert, go ahead and weigh in. Well, look, I was a prosecutor for 17 years, and I was an elected DA in one of Georgia's largest jurisdictions. To get the death penalty in Georgia, there are certain things that you have to do to qualify for. It's not just for murdering somebody. And this was, sure enough, murder.

But, you know, it needs to be, you know, during the course of an armed robbery, there needs to be torture, mutilation, retaliation when you kill a judicial official or a police officer. There are a number of factors. And I don't believe, in all honesty, that it qualifies for the death penalty under Georgia law, just being a murderer during the course of them chasing him down. It was horrible. It does not. And it was shocking. But I do not believe it qualifies. And I don't think it was an option to the prosecutor in this case. Okay.

All right, Scott, you can go ahead and finish your next legal point. You know, you've insulted me a lot over the years. Scott, Scott, first of all, I have a former Georgia DA. Seriously. That's a good question. You don't ask me and say,

is that correct? No, no, no. I want to know if you even knew the answer. So therefore, we're going to give the proper answer without other legal analysts. So please, go for it to give the proper answer without other legal amnesty. So please, go for it with your point. What I was going to say to my sister, Monique, the beauty of this case and the beauty of her comment about the defense raising the race question probably made the jury uncomfortable. But race was always a factor.

It was hanging in the courtroom and outside the courtroom. You didn't have to do dog whistles or call him the N-word or do all the things that the defense did. And the prosecution knew that. So why even get into it? And what the prosecution team did was make it a very race neutral, practical prosecution using the facts, if you will. And by doing that, she essentially was messaging to this jury, you can do this. We know race is out there, but it's okay. Here's the pathway to conviction where you can do it in the name of blind justice, not because you're going to be judged later on the race question, because we're not putting race in this. This is murder. It'll be murder now, murder in the future, and murder in

the past. And it's okay for you to come back with that verdict, despite the racial tensions that are hanging in this courtroom. The thing here, Robert, that I found to be quite interesting is that obviously the defense, I think the defense realized we ain't got no defense. And they tried,

they tried to hit race at every turn, all of the motions they were filing and even the judge remained very even keeled and I remember when he was complaining about the pastor showing up and the judge was kind of like

you caused it you know and so it was as if they were trying to at any turn man let me just press one racial button in one of these white jurors because all they needed was one juror to say not guilty. Yeah. Well, I think they went too far. Like you're correct in that they didn't have a defense. All right. So they had to. I always knew that they were going to put the victim, you know, on trial in this case. That's what you see in cases like this. You put the

victim on trial and you try to make the case, you know, about the victim's character. And a lot of that was limited. If you recall, there were what we call motions eliminate or motions pre-trial to stop a lot of that. And it was successful because they tried to do even more. But ultimately, as a defense lawyer, you have to be careful about going too far and angering or pissing a jury off. This jury didn't look like us. There was only one Black person, one African American on the jury, but even white folks don't want to feel like they're, you know, that they're making race-based decisions. And look, we can't discount the fact that everyone on that jury, they knew the, you know, the eyes of the world was watching them, that, you know, for posterity's sake, you know, they would be judged and their grandchildren's children would know about the decisions that they made. So how do you want to be remembered as a juror in this case? How do you want your community to be seen when you have an obvious murder? And so I think the defense lawyers went too far with the comments about the dirty toenails and all of that stuff. Oh my God, that was just unbelievably shit. It was unbelievably shit. It was weird, too. It had no basis. Yeah, and to be that unbelievably personal in a jury trial about someone that has lost his life and think that even right-thinking white folks aren't going to be offended is just bad strategy, and I wouldn't have done it.

It was so horrible. It was so horrible that I went back since I, you know, we, none of us, I didn't, I wasn't able to see every part of the testimony. And when she said that, it made me want to go back and look. I'm like, did experts say something about his feet or I just I couldn't connect any single dot that made it as make sense other than for what her intended purpose was I mean I and I I really had never heard anyone just be so blatantly disrespectful and I am not saying that because his family was there that a defense attorney or a prosecutor should choose different words because of their audience. You have a job to do. But to say words like that that were completely unnecessary was astounding to me. And the other thing that occurs to me

is just the complete difference between the Rittenhouse verdict and this one. And what I hope people will get from that is that for all of the people who, when the Rittenhouse verdict came out and sets a precedent and this and that and this will never be the same and everybody's going to think this and think that. And I tweeted at the time, this is a decision in one case from one jury in one town. Do not think that this means that every other case is going to be like this,

or that every other area and territory is going to be like this. And I am thankful for a jury in the Deep South that with people who were not majority of color coming back with this decision, because they, it is the exact opposite kind of trial with a very similar type fact pattern. So I think we should make no assumptions whatsoever. I don't think we should assume about white jurors that they can't hear facts, apply law and come up with the right decision. I don't think we should assume about black jurors that they will do that because I've had recently on the crisis management side, some clients to see verdicts come back that didn't make any sense on paper. And it was Black folks on the jury

who didn't even hang the jury. So humanity is humanity. And people come to it with their own predispositions. They come to it with the entirety of their life experiences. And finally, I also think that this Rittenhouse verdict was in this juror's mind. I'm not saying that it changed the outcome on the jury.

They had plenty to make their decision, but I know they didn't want to be like those folks. Absolutely. Absolutely. So hold tight one second. We come back. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, they weigh in on this verdict as well. And I've got to ask each one of you, because I really want to focus on this. Again, those two white DAs who tried their best not to see this move forward, what should happen? One has already been charged. What about the other one? I want to get your thoughts on that when we come back right here as we provide post-analysis of the verdict in the case of the three white racists found guilty today

for the murder, the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery. You're watching Rollo Martin Unfocused on the Black Show. I'll deny it. You want to go out? You want to go out? You want to go out? You want to go out? You want to go out? Alexa, play our favorite song again. OK. I only have eyes for you. I'm All right. Okay. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott.

And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up

to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at amazon so now she's free to become maureen the marrier food is her love language and she really loves her grandson like really loves what's up what's up i'm dr ricky dillard the choir master hey yo peace world what's going on it's the love king of r&b Raheem Devon and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Ben Crump is one of the

attorneys for the Among Aubrey family. This is what he had to say today outside of the Glynn County Courthouse. All the allegations, all the character assassinations, long legs with dirty toenails. Just imagine all they went through that when he heard that, Reverend Al, he could not contain because Marcus as a father, they see their job as to protect their children. That's right. And you can't experience the pain of a mother and a father who witness what they witness,

not being there to protect their child. Every parent in America can take solace in knowing that we have an example of how to deal with tragedy and grief when they look at the example of Marcus Albrecht and Wandaanda Cooper and we should applaud them. That's right. And I tell you all, we together did this. We all together, black, white, activists, faith members, lawyers, prosecutors. We did this together. We said, America, we will make us better than what we saw in that video. I would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge,

even though we are clapping and we are cheering and we applaud. Wanda and Marcus still are devastated because they're missing a mile. That's right. That's right. Devastating. That's right. And so even though this is not a celebration, it is a reflection to acknowledge that the spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob. That's right.

The spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob. That's right. The spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob. That's right. Yeah. The spirit of the mind defeated the lynch mob. Yeah. The statement that President Joe Biden released today, Arbery's killing witnessed by the world on video is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country.

Mr. Arbery should be here today celebrating the holidays with his mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, and his father, Marcus Arbery. Nothing can bring Mr. Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished. Although guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin. My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the Supreme Court, but a reality for all Americans. Vice President Kamala Harris, today the jury rendered its verdict and the three defendants were found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Still, we feel the weight of grief. Ahmaud Arbery should be alive and nothing can take away the pain that his mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, his father, Marcus Arbery, and the entire Arbery family and community feel today.

I share in that pain. These verdicts send an important message, but the fact remains that we still have work to do. The defense counsel chose to set a tone that cast the attendance of ministers at the trial as intimidation and dehumanized a young black man with racist tropes. The jury arrived at his verdict despite these tactics. Ahmaud Arbery was a son, he was a brother, he was a friend, his life had meaning. We will not forget him, we honor him best

by continuing to fight for justice. That there was Vice President Tom Harris. Robert, I want to go to you here because there were actions of two white prosecutors before this thing became a national story. And it was their actions that actually allowed these individuals to walk free for the longest. They thought they were going to get away with this. Well, I actually know the prosecutors that are involved. I know Jackie. You know, I was an elected D.A. during the time that she was elected and we were a member of the same association. There aren't many of us in Georgia. And so I was shocked because I never I never felt anything like that.

But I've been living in this world almost 50 years and I understand that that doesn't mean anything. With that being said, you know, it you know, once I saw all the evidence through the media, you know, that was presented, it clearly appears that this was swept under the rug. And not just swept under the rug, but we met as DAs, as elected DAs, probably about a decade ago, and we were told in the Attorney General's office in that meeting that when you conflict out of cases, you're not to send any smoke signals, any phone calls, any emails or any messages trying to dictate or determine how the case is going to be handled. And we were all clear on that as elected DAs. This was years before Mr. Harbour was murdered. And so, you know, her trying, you know,

her conflicting out of the case, her directing the police department not to arrest these individuals was wrong and horrible, number one. But then number two, her trying to dictate how the case was handled was also inappropriate based on how all of us as elected DAs in this state have been proceeding and operating for almost a decade now. Monique? Yes? Your thoughts on the actions of these DAs? Again, the system works best when the people who are given a position of public trust honor the public trust that they've been given. I want to correct for the name of the lead prosecutor. It's Linda Dunacosky. I thought,

I think I, I thought it was Rodensky, but it's Dunacosky. And, and that is an example of someone doing the job the way that it is supposed to be done. I don't know that anything would have mattered, though, without that video. And that, to me, if I could pivot just for a second, and I actually have this question for our former prosecutor in Georgia. To me, that was one of two times that. Brian Roddy, Brian's lawyers failed him. The other time that I don't understand at all is why he was even in this trial with those McMichael's defendants. Do you have any idea about that? When you say why he was in the trial? Well, why would he why why wouldn't he insist on on being tried separately?

Do y'all do things differently there? I never would have wanted him with those people. Well, he could insist, but it wasn't going to happen. He was part of the act. And so in Georgia, you know, we have different terminology, but basically it's accomplice liability, it's party to the crime, is what we call it in Georgia. And, you know, if someone aids or encourages or counsels anyone to commit a crime, helps in any way, even the slightest way, you know, they are as guilty as a principal or as the individual that pulled the trigger. And so the prosecution's theory in this case was that, you know, this individual that was driving the car and, you know, chasing him down was party to the crime and he was, you know, he was helping, you know, now you can't really

convict him of malice murder because you don't have any evidence of it. But if he's assisting or helping or encouraging in the felony that actually led to the murder, then he's parties to the crime of what we call felony murder in Georgia. And that's why they included him, because it tells the whole story. So you're saying it's up to the prosecutors, whether you get to stand alone for trial or not. I if you look at the shoving case you know i mean those the other officers who were involved who are accomplices who are also being charged are being tried separately um and and that's why i was wondering if it's something that goes on state to state because um a motion to separate i i would i would think around these parts would be granted because even though he had a part to play, it was a distinct part from the actual murder. I mean, if you think about drug cases

where there's 25 to 50 different defendants, they're not all necessarily being tried together. So that's why I was wondering if it was his attorney who screwed this up or what happened. So your question is one for the defense and not the prosecution. As a prosecutor, you're going to want to indict him and have him included. As a defense lawyer, you're going to make a decision strategically whether or not you actually want your guy sitting at the table with these folks, or you're going to make a move to sever or separate, as you call it. There was no motion to sever.

I don't know why. I don't know why. But I'm not aware of any motion to sever. I mean, I would have wanted my guy as a defense. And I do some criminal defense now. I would have wanted my guy, particularly if he's the least culpable of the three, i.e. the guy that just drove the car and shot the video, I'd want him as far away from these other two as possible. Why his lawyers didn't do that, I don't know. Why his lawyers didn't do that, why he didn't have a plea and sing like a canary

and be a witness to this trial instead of a defendant in this trial, it's a whole lot of questions I had. Well, I'll be honest with you. I think it probably was along the lines of, hey, they thought with Michael being a former worker in the DA's office, sort of a former law enforcement. Hey, that's going to work out for us. Guess what? They roll the dice, crapped out. Now he's going to be spending a long time in prison and this is

the piece the last question for both of you I want to start with you they still got to deal with the federal hate crime yeah yeah that's a that's a problem because all of those ugly words right that we heard about at the beginning of this prosecution all those things you know that we're talking about

the confederate flag sticker, all of that stuff, that's going to be in the federal trial. All of that is going to be in the federal trial. It's going to be the center of the federal trial. And you're not going to look, this is a relatively small area of Georgia, you know, from Brunswick over to Savannah. You're talking about an hour, hour and a half drive. It's the same region. And so, you know, these folks in that they pull from, you know, from Brunswick over to Savannah, you're talking about an hour, hour and a half drive. It's the same region. And so, you know, these folks in that they pull from, you know, from the federal jury over in Savannah and the federal courthouse will already know that these fellas have been convicted of murder. All right. And so, you know, so it's, it's, it's going to be, you know, you know, a slippery, a tall hill, a tall mountain to climb for his defense lawyers to get him

acquitted. You know, when all of that stuff comes out that we've all been hearing on the media about what they've said and what they've done. Moni, final comment. Right. Absolutely. But I, I mean, I am glad that it's happening, but I don't think it's going to matter from what I read. You know, it's it's the judge doesn't have to give parole with the sentences on the murder. And even if he gives parole, it's a minimum of 30 years before they're eligible for parole. And all of the felony murders will run concurrently. But then there's still the assault and the imprisonment. And those are like zero to 10, zero to 20. I do not expect any of these men

to see the outside of prison in their lifetimes, whether they are convicted in the federal cases or not. And you know what? Here's a lesson. Mind your own damn business. Yep. That's one of them for sure. Mind your damn business. Stop making assumptions. You know what? This is the last part here for you. So today I was flying. I was flying to Houston and a couple of things happened. I get to the gate and I got my Texas A&M sweatshirt on the pants. And the United guy, he immediately goes,

hey, so were you playing football at Texas A&M with Marcus Spears at LSU? I looked at him like, what the hell are you talking about? He keeps going. I said, man, I ain't never played football in my life. No. He didn't even ask me. He just went right there. Then I got on the plane with my niece

and we were walking on. So we're walking on the plane. And the flight attendant goes, you got to check that bag. There's no room. And I went, in first class? Oh, oh yeah. There's room in first class. I said, well, I'm in first class. And so I posted

that on my social media. And that was the people who hit me, Robert and Monique, and they were like, you know, man, you know, you should let that thing just slide off your back. I said, no. Because that's how these

things start for us. It's assumptions. When they see us, I said, they see, oh, he had to play. He could not have gone to Texas A&M unless he played football. Oh, they can't be sitting in first class. Now, they can't be driving that nice car. They can't live in that house. Oh, they can't do this. What happened here? He had to have been stealing something. Oh, he was creeping around. Oh,

he ran away. It is the assumptions that lead to Black people dying. And I dare say to anybody Black, we must challenge assumptions because when they are making judgments about who we are, and they don't even know us, they haven't even talked to us, they don't even know our background, that little small little assumption that people say you should just ignore ends up being, in the case of Lamar Arbery, dead because somebody assumed that he was a thief and he was walking around stealing something. That is something that we can never let just escape and ignore, Robert. Never. No assumptions. No, look, I agree 100%. As a Black man in this country, I've had to deal with it, you know, at every level of my existence from a young

child, all the way up to being in law enforcement, you know, driving through areas with a gun and a badge, and being the chief law enforcement officer, and people assuming until they recognized my face that I did not belong where I was. And, you know, when you mix assumptions with someone exercising law enforcement duties, you know, it can become lethal because you assume someone is doing something, you know, that they're not actually doing. You assume Mr. Arbery is a thief when all he's doing is exercising and looking at homes. And as I've read, because he's interested in being an electrician one day, and there's absolutely no evidence. And so because of that assumption,

that's based on race, I might add, you end up killing this young man. And so, look, we have an obligation as human beings, as African-American people to educate and to correct those assumptions because they can turn deadly. Monique? Yes, absolutely. I agree 100%. Those things, I know we've all had experiences where they happen, that the airport airplane scenario has happened to me. I try to respond as graciously as possible because I know many times it's not coming from an intent

to insult or to be rude, but that's why they ask for racial sensitivity type trainings for anyone who's dealing with the public because you should not make any assumptions based on person's look, based on a person's color, based on a person's color, based on a person's dress, based on a person's sex or gender, not based on any of those things. And frankly, when we don't do it, you know, Roland, you might have converted to Karen because that same woman who's making assumptions about you in first class might go home and turn into the person who was in the park and who called the police on a brother for no reason at all. So we don't know what type of conduct we may be able to correct by stepping in and doing our small part, not to agitate or to make a fight, but just to subtly push against that narrative or that assumption.

So, yes, I think that is one way that we all can do our small part to push humanity forward. Well, sometimes I ain't subtle with it, just depending on what mood I'm in. Subtlety is not your strong suit. Well, you know, I can be subtle, but typically I'm not. Subtlety is not your strong suit. Well, you know, I can be subtle, but typically I'm not. But the thing is, and people thought I was dumb. I'm like, no.

I said, the reality is, Ahmaud Arbery is dead because there were a tragic line of assumptions. They assumed that he was stealing. When they testified, yeah, no, we didn't see anything. They assumed that he had a gun. Never showed a gun. They assumed this entire deal.

Remember they came out and said, oh, we had a rash of burglaries, a smash and grabs in an area the prosecutor said that were poor in all of 2019. So, where is the rash? But Roland, he could have committed every one of them. I mean, that is the

thing I know people don't want to look at because the only way that we get out of these things is if we turn our brothers, as I always say, into spotless, blameless lambs. The Michaels would have been dead wrong to do what they did. Even if every one of those robberies without them knowing it had been committed by Ahmaud. I don't believe that they were, but it wouldn't have mattered.

It wouldn't have fit under citizen's arrest because they didn't know that he did anything that day. They didn't witness him doing anything that day. They had no reason to be able to just based on what they saw, stop him that day. And it had been such a long time prior to that, that there was no justification for them to use it as an excuse, even if they had known that he had done something and they hadn't. So it really didn't matter that all he was doing that day was running. We didn't need to know his intent in being inside that house to understand that they violated the law. They took the law into their own hands wrongfully. And that is why Ahmaud died that day.

And it should not occur. Well, Robert, unfortunately, we actually have to be clean and spotless because I dare say this, if Ahmaud did steal something, if Ahmaud was carrying something, this verdict may have gone another way. You know, the great work of the prosecution, prosecuting, understanding how people think. Robert, go ahead.

Well, practically, practically, there would not have been a prosecution. Let's just let's just be real about it. All right. It was a it was a public outcry because he wasn't stealing anything, because he did not have a weapon on his person that really motivated the authorities to take a deeper look. And when we pull back the covers, that's when we saw all the ugly stuff that had been going on and the prosecutors were removed and people were indicted and all this other stuff. But if he had not been spotless, we wouldn't be having this conversation. He'd just be another black man in a neighborhood where he wasn't supposed to be doing something that he wasn't supposed to do. And we wouldn't have this

cold clinical approach to the law, which is, you know, did they have probable cause to detain him or arrest him? You know, and what did they know at the time? That never would have come into play. You know, now in a perfect world, it should, right? But, you know, in the imperfect world of prosecution, jury selection, and closing arguments, it just doesn't work that way. Absolutely. All right. Robert, Monique, I appreciate it. Scott, I had to go a little bit early. I appreciate all three of you joining us. Let me thank Lee. Let me thank Barbara. Let me thank Daryl for joining us as well. Again, folks, we were not supposed to be live today,

but because of the verdict that came down, that's why we are live. We thank all of you for joining us as well. First of all, the big numbers today. Thank you so much for everybody watching. Got a great trip coming up for you next, folks. What's going to happen is we're going to stop this live stream. We're going to talk to new ones.

We are launching a new show, one of eight shows that we're launching on Black Star Network. This is Rolling the Road, a one-on-one, one-hour interview show. I'm kicking this thing off with singer Johnny Gill. Folks may not realize that Johnny was far successful before he became a new addition. And we talked about that. We talked about some things that he would love to do. And I can't wait for you to hear the

end of the interview where I hooked him up with one of the greatest gospel singers out there. I ain't going to tell y'all who it is. Y'all got to watch the interview. So it's a fantastic interview. We want y'all to enjoy it. Rolling with Roland. The 101 with Johnny Gill, the series premiere, is next.

I'm going to drop a new episode every two weeks on the Black Star Network. I appreciate it, y'all. Have a great Thanksgiving. Hug your family. Hang out with them. No drama, please. And if you didn't bring any food for Thanksgiving,

don't ask who cooks stuff, because you ain't do shit. Just be quiet and eat. Okay? Just be quiet and eat. Just be quiet and eat. And do me a favor. If you got one of them family members, and they got a bag of hat, sit their ass

in the yard, and then bring their plate outside. Then they can't come to the house. Alright, y'all. That's it. I gotta go. I will see y'all Friday from the Bayou Classic in New Orleans. Fire! Alexa, play our favorite song again. Okay.

I only have eyes for you. That spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Ooh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021.

Oh, you should pick something stronger. That's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry. I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself.

Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision. An SUV built around you. All of you. Once upon a time, there lived a princess with really long hair who was waiting for a prince to come save her. But really, who has time for that? She ordered herself a ladder with prime one-day delivery. And she was out of there.

I want some good girls looking back at it and a good girl in my text break. Monday delivery and she was out of there. Now, her hairdressing empire is killing it. And the prince, well, who cares? Prime changes everything. Hello, everyone. I'm Godfrey and you're watching... Roland Martin Unfiltered. And while he's doing Unfiltered, I'm practicing the wobble. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast Season 2 on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's the deal. We gotta set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to

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