Read the charges facing them again. Attempted False Imprisonment. The attempt is enough.
You need to step back from the they are being railroaded attitude.
That is part of the Study Guide for the old Georgia BAR exam. The exam that lawyers take to get their license to practice law in the State.
That covers Citizens Arrest. And how the McMichaels, and Roddy were unable by law to effect one.
To be convicted of Attempted False Imprisonment, it is only necessary to show intent, with ability.
www.georgiacriminallawyer.com
Intent was covered by Roddy’s statement as well as the statement of the McMichaels.
Finally the “criminal record of Arbery”. Guess what? It doesn’t apply in Georgia. The only grounds for a Citizens Arrest is what the supposed miscreant did NOW. You saw him murder someone and are holding him for the cops. If you didn’t see the crime, you can’t stop him. Now the DA might decline to press charges. But technically and by the letter of the law and precedents, you are guilty of a crime.
The letter of the law is written by the Legislature. The intent of the law, and how it is applied is determined by the Courts. That’s why decisions like Winn Dixie are important. They restrict the apparently wide ranging authority under the old 1863 law.
And Winn Dixie was decided decades ago. It isn’t a new rule just for the McMichaels.
So again it is a series of dominos. Was the intent to detain Arbery legal? No. They had no first hand knowledge of a crime, and no authority to effect a Citizens Arrest under Georgia Law.
Their own statements that they called on him to stop and he didn’t, where they said they used their vehicles to block Arbery. That is not them trying to catch a bad guy, it is them committing a crime.
So that brings us to the part where they hemmed him in and Travis got out of the truck with his shotgun. As was shown above, several times, that now qualifies as Aggravated Assault. A second Felony.
That means the shooting can’t be considered Self Defense. A death that occurs during the commission of a Felony in Georgia is called Felony Murder. Aggravated Assault is one of those Felonies listed.
It is why I commented so verbosely about the idiocy of those three. They talked to the cops and made statements. They told this story. And in doing so admitted to committing three felonies under Georgia Law. They didn’t realize it at the time, they thought they were explaining their actions to justify those actions.
But talking themselves into trouble is something a lot of convicts do. It is why I and everyone who thinks says over and over again. Say nothing to the cops. Get a lawyer. Get a lawyer. Get a ******* lawyer.
Yes you might be detained longer during the questioning waiting on a lawyer. But you may well be avoiding permanent detainment as a convicted felon in the Prisons.
Watch the first Bond Hearing. It’s on You Tube. The Investigator from the GBI lays out the evidence they have, and what they are still developing. Arbery handprints on vehicles as one example. Statements of the defendants.
Now I have my own opinion of what happened. But working strictly off the facts, I’m not seeing much of a defense. It isn’t just a railroad or political prosecution. It is actually justified by their own actions.
If you take nothing from my posts. If you think I am a Liberal jackass or whatever. Please take this. If you ever have to talk to the cops. Get a ******* lawyer. You may be brilliantly smart. But you’re playing in their field, and don’t know the rules as well as they do. This is their game. Hire an expert.