U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godby Wood imposed the sentences on Travis McMichael, 36, and his father, Greg McMichael, 66, reiterating the gravity of the February 2020 slaying that devastated their Brunswick community . William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, who recorded cellphone video of the killing, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. “A young man is dead. Ahmaud Arbery will forever be 25. And what happened, according to a jury, happened because he is black,” Wood said. The McMichaels had previously been sentenced to life without parole in state court for Arbery’s murder and had asked the judge to divert them to a federal prison to serve their sentences, saying they were concerned about their safety in the state prison system. Brian had tried to serve his federal sentence first. Wood denied all three requests. The sentences handed down on Monday ended the second trial of the men responsible for Arbery’s murder, which along with the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, sparked a wave of protests across the country. against the killing of unarmed Black people. In February, a federal jury convicted McMichaels and Bryan of violating Arbery’s civil rights, concluding that he was targeted because of his race. All three were also found guilty of attempted kidnapping and the McMichaels were convicted of using weapons to commit a violent crime. The McMichaels armed themselves with guns and used a truck to chase after Arbery after he ran past their home on February 23, 2020. Bryan, a neighbor, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded cell phone video of Travis McMichael shoots Arbery with a shotgun. The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar, but investigators determined he was unarmed and had committed no crime. “I’m very grateful,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters outside court after all three sentences were handed down. “It was a long fight. I’m so thankful that God gave us the strength to keep fighting.” The hearings were the first time the men involved in the deadly chase have expressed any remorse to Arbery’s family. Only Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shots, chose to remain silent when given the opportunity to speak in court. Greg McMichael told Arbury’s family their loss was “beyond description”. “I’m sure my words mean very little to you, but I want to assure you that I never wanted any of this to happen,” he said. “There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day.” Brian said he was sorry. “I never meant to hurt him and I never would have played any part in what happened if I knew then what I know now,” Brian said. In giving Bryan a lower sentence, Wood noted that he had not brought a weapon to chase Arberry and kept his cell phone video, which was crucial to the prosecution. Travis McMichael’s attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, said a lighter sentence would be more consistent with similar charges defendants have received in other cases, noting that the police officer who killed Floyd in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights. , although he was not accused of targeting Floyd because of his race. Greg McMichael’s attorney, AJ Balbo, also cited Chauvin’s sentence as well as his client’s age and health issues, which he said include a stroke and depression. During the hate crimes trial in February, prosecutors bolstered their case that Arbery’s killing was racially motivated by showing jurors about a dozen text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan used racial slurs and made disparaging comments about black people. Prosecutor Christopher Perras said the evidence in the trial proved “what so many people felt in their hearts when they watched the video of Ahmaud’s tragic and unnecessary death: This would never have happened if he were white.” A state Superior Court judge sentenced the McMichaels and Bryan to life in prison in January for Arbery’s murder, with both McMichaels refusing any chance of parole. All three defendants remained jailed in coastal Glynn County, in the custody of U.S. marshals, while they await sentencing following their federal convictions. Because they were first charged and convicted of murder in state court, they will be turned over to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve their life sentences in state prison. Copeland argued unsuccessfully to keep Travis McMichael in federal custody, saying he has received hundreds of death threats soon after arriving at the state prison and that his picture has been circulated on illegal phones there. “I am concerned your honor that my client is essentially facing a backdoor death sentence,” he said, adding that “retribution and revenge” were not sentencing factors, even for a defendant who is “publicly reviled.” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery Sr., said Travis McMichael had shown his son no mercy and deserved to “rot” in state prison. “You killed him because he was black and you hate black people,” he said. “You deserve no mercy.”
Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala contributed to this story from Atlanta.
