As the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial in Georgia ends, it reminds me of the Casual Killing Act of 1669. The deviant law, the Casual Killing Act of 1669, which devalues Black lives and makes it legal to kill a slave at will with impunity, is far from new. In the case of Ahmaud Arbery, it took several months for his three killers to be charged.

Moreover, the casual killing of slaves” says that if a slave dies while resisting his master, the act will not be presumed to have occurred with “prepensed malice.” While listening to the defense closing statement in Mr. Arbery’s today, it’s evidence that the Casual Killing Act is still in play!