'Self-defense' is not a license to kill

It’s always perilous to render final judgments on any crimes from the outside without waiting for all of the facts. But the evidence currently available does not provide any conceivable justification for the pursuit and tragic killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an incident caught on tape.

Until very recently, the only thing available for scrutiny was a shocking amateur video recording of the incident. It appeared to show a black man running through a neighborhood street before a confrontation with two white men in a pickup truck. A struggle ensues. Shots are heard, and then the black male, now known to be Arbery, retreats before collapsing to the ground. He died from multiple bullet wounds.