Ahmaud Arbery news: Mother ‘very thankful’ as Travis and Gregory McMichael get life without parole
Court sentences Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William ‘Roddie’ Bryan Jr to life
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Gregory and Travis McMichael, white father and son convicted of murdering Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 20 years.
A judge handed down the sentences in Glynn County, Georgia, on Friday afternoon. The McMichaels’ neighbour and co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan Jr was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years served.
The sentence came nearly two years after the three men chased Arbery, who was unarmed, through a neighbourhood in their trucks before shooting him in February 2020. The attack was captured in footage filmed by Bryan Jr.
All three men stood trial in November on nine charges: one count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Travis McMichael was convicted of and received the top sentence for malice murder, while Gregory McMichael and Bryan Jr received their top sentences for felony murder.
Prosecutors ask that men convicted for Ahmaud Arbery’s murder not be allowed to make money off their actions
Prosecutors asked the judge for a condition to be imposed that would stop the three men convicted of murder from making any money off their crimes.
Making her presentation to the court, a prosecution lawyer said: “The state ask for a condition imposed along with the sentence and that is this - that defendants are not allowed to make any money off of their actions such as a book deal, a movie deal, social media deal, or anything that in any way shape or form would make any money off of this experience, this conviction, and this trial.”
She asked that should any money be made that it would go into a fund for the Arbery family.
Listen to the statement here:
Georgia judge calls Ahmaud Arbery’s murder ‘chilling'
If you are just catching up on the outcome of Travis McMichael and his father Gregory’s sentencing, here is a useful round-up of what the judge said in court.
Father and son sentenced to life without parole for murder of Ahmaud Arbery
Travis McMichael and Gregory McMichael will spend the rest of their lives in prison for the February 2020 murder
What next for father and son?
A month from now, on 7 February, a federal judge has scheduled jury selection to begin in the second trial against Gregory and Travis McMichael for federal hate crimes charges.
Jurors will have to decide whether the killing was motivated by racism, having already been sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
As The Associated Press reported on Friday, his family have said the hate crimes charges remain an important part of receiving justice for his death in February 2020.
Family rejected plea deal at 11th hour
A plea deal that would have sentenced the father and son – and their neighbour – to 30 years in federal prison was reportedly rejected by the Arbery family on Friday.
Instead, the three men convicted in November of murdering the Black man in February 202 were handed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael.
As Rachel Sharp writes, William “Roddie” Bryan Jr will not be eligible for release for at least 30 years due to Georgia law, when he will be 82 years old.
Ahmaud Arbery’s family rejects plea deal for three murderers ahead of sentencing
Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their neighbour William “Roddie” Bryan are facing a separate federal hate crimes trial
Reminder: Who was Ahmaud Arbery?
The death of the 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery on 23 February 2020 caused widespread outrage following the release of video of three men chasing the Black man – who had been out running – while armed.
The former linebacker and aspiring college footballer was shot by Travis McMichael, who was with his father Gregory and their neighbour William “Roddie” Bryan, who were found guilty of murder in November.
Although no arrests were immediately made in the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case amid calls for racial justice in 2020 in the wake of the killing of another Black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd.
His family have campaigned for nearly two years for justice, Josh Marcus writes:
Who is Ahmaud Arbery, the Black man whose killers were found guilty of murder?
Mr Arbery’s death was one of a number of killings which inspired 2020’s national racial reckoning and civil rights protests
Member of Congress pays tribute to Arbery
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley was among many to comment on the sentencing of the three men convicted of murderign Ahmaud Arbery and wrote:
Family delivered emotional impact statements
“These men have chose to lie and attack my son and his surviving family, they each have no remorse and don’t deserve any leniency,” said Ahmaud Arbery’s mother in covrt on Friday.
“This wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. They chose to target my son because they didn’t want him in their community... and when they couldn’t sufficiently scare him or intimidate him they killed him.”
Her emotional impact statement was among many before a judge decided to sentence the three men to life imprisonment for murderng Arbery.
His father Marcus Arbery described how he had watched the father and son duo Travis and Gregory McMichael sitting together in the courtroom throughout the trial, and that was something “I’ll never get that chance” to do.
Will the McMichaels face the death penalty?
Although murder is also punishable by the death penalty in Georgia, prosecutors in the case of Ahmaud Arbery’s killing chose not to seek the punishment against Gregory and Travis McMichael.
They were instead found guilty of murder and will spend the rest of their lives in prison. Their neighbour William “Roddie” Bryan will be able to seek parole after 30 years.
What happens next?
Following their conviction on state charges, the McMichaels and Bryan now face separate federal charges at a federal hate crimes trial which is scheduled to begin in February.
The three men could also appeal appeal against their convictions, although have not yet done so, as Rachel Sharp writes:
The murder of Ahmaud Arbery: What’s next after the sentencing?
The three white men who chased and shot dead Black 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced to life in prison on Friday. But this far from marks the end of the case, writes Rachel Sharp
MLK Jr’s daughter shares tribune to Arbery
The daughter of former civil rights leader and anti-racism campaigner Martin Luther King Jr has also paid tribute to Ahmaud Arbery following the sentencing of his three killers on Friday.
Bernice King, who is CEO of the Center for Nonviolent Social Change, shared the following:
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