Ahmaud Arbery's mother calls for 'maximum sentence' for son's killers

The family of Ahmaud Arbery has rejected an 11th-hour plea deal for the three men who murdered the Black man in Georgia in February 2020 which would have sentenced them to 30 years in federal prison on hate crimes charges.

The killers face a separate federal trial, set to begin in February, on hate crime charges which accuse the three men of using force to intimidate and interfere with Mr Arbery’s rights because of his race. They face life in prison on these federal charges.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Mr Arbery’s family members called for the three killers to spend the rest of their lives behind bars as they gave emotional victim impact statements. Ms Cooper-Jones said the three men murdered her son “because they didn’t want him in their community”.

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