Could the verdict in the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers spell the end for so-called ‘vigilante justice’?

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Ahmaud Arbery’s death - and the trial of the three white men accused of his murder currently underway in Brunswick - has shone a spotlight on the concepts of self defence, citizen’s arrest, stand your ground and open carry laws. Pro-vigilante laws The Civil-war era citizen’s arrest law allowed any Georgia citizen to arrest another citizen if they believed they had committed a felony crime either “in his presence or within his immediate knowledge”. open image in gallery Kyle Rittenhouse shot dead two men and wounded a third during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer but was acquitted of all charges According to Mr Robbins, citizen’s arrest laws date back to medieval England and the year 1285 when, before organised police forces were created, citizens were made responsible for enforcing the law and capturing fellow citizens who broke it under the order of the king. Joseph Marguiles, professor of practice, law and government at Cornell Law School, tells The Independent that the deaths of Mr Martin and Mr Arbery especially are very similar as they involve the “convergence of citizen’s arrest, open carry gun laws and stand your ground”.