By Joyce Vance 

Dear Reader, 

On Monday, jury selection began in a federal courthouse in Savannah, Georgia, in the case of the three men who were previously convicted, in state court, of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery, who was Black, was killed while he was out jogging. The men convicted of killing him are white. 

The federal case charges the three men with interfering with Arbery’s rights because he was Black, in violation of 18 U.S. Code § 245. They are also charged with attempted kidnapping, and two of the three are charged with using a firearm in furtherance of their crimes. But the hate crime is the centerpiece of the prosecution.