By Stacy Brown

(NNPA) – After nearly two years of pain, suffering, and wondering if the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery would pay for their heinous crime, the 25-year-old’s family finally received justice.

A Glynn County, Georgia, convicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan of felony murder.

“Guilty. Guilty. Guilty,” civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump exclaimed.

“Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul,” Crump continued.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called the verdicts long overdue.

“Ahmaud Arbery’s death was unnecessary and fueled by racist ideologies deeply engrained into the fabric of this nation,” Johnson insisted.

“Generations of Black people have seen this time and time again, with the murder of Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, and many others,” he continued.

“The actions and events perpetrated by the McMichaels and William Bryan leading up to Ahmaud’s death reflect a growing and deepening rift in America that will be its undoing if not addressed on a systemic level.

“We must fix what is genuinely harming our nation: white supremacy.”

The jury found Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery in February 2020, guilty of all nine charges, including malice murder and four counts of felony murder.

The panel found his father, Gregory, not guilty of malice murder but convicted him on felony murder, unlawful imprisonment, and other charges.

Bryan escaped a guilty verdict on malice murder, but the jury found him guilty of three felony murder counts, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal intent to commit a felony.

The men, who also face federal charges, could spend life in prison when sentenced.

Judge Timothy Walmsley bound the men over and will soon set a sentencing date.