The three white men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery have been sentenced to life in prison.
Travis and Greg McMichael along with William Bryan all faced a minimum sentence of life in prison in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. The father and son, Travis and Greg McMichael are not eligible for the possibility of parole. While the third accomplice and neighbor, Bryan will be eligible.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley came down with the sentencing today after asking the courtroom to “sit silent for one minute” to demonstrate “a fraction of the time Ahmaud Arbery was running” in fear from the men who chased him down and killed him.
“He left his home to go for a run and ended up running for his life,” Judge Timothy Walmsley added.
Arbery’s parents asked the judge to give all three men the maximum punishment allowable.
“The man who killed my son has sat in this courtroom every single day next to his father. I’ll never get that chance to sit next to my son ever again. Not at a general table. Not at a holiday. And not at a wedding,” Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud’s dad pleaded.
Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones also spoke before sentencing. She said the men targeted Arbery because “they didn’t want him in their community.”
Travis McMichael testified during the trial that he saw Arbery acting suspicious in the neighborhood on the day of the shooting. His defense tried to imply Travis McMichael shot Ahmaud Arbery in self-defense after they wrestled over his shotgun while the three tried to make a citizen’s arrest of Arbery.
However a leaked video shows the three men chasing 25-year-old Arbery, as he jogged along his neighborhood.
Attorneys for all three men have stated they will appeal the convictions.
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