Three white men have been sentenced to life in prison for the February 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was killed while jogging in his Georgia neighborhood. A riot ensued.
His one of these men, Travis McMichael, was sentenced Monday to an additional life sentence and his 10-year sentence for federal hate crimes. I was.
It was ruled that he must serve his sentence in Georgian custody, despite concerns that other prisoners might impose a "back door death penalty.".
U.S. District Judge Lisa Wood filed a request to send the 36-year-old defendant to a federal detention center for security concerns because she could not choose where to serve her sentence. I declined.
"I refuse that request and look instead to the rules that apply," Judge Wood said, adding that Georgia would be the first to indict, try, and convict McMichael.
Sentencing hearings for the other two men are scheduled for later Monday.
McMichael's attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, said in court on Monday that McMichael, 36, has been the target of hundreds of intimidation and that if sent to state custody. He said he could be at risk.
"I am concerned that my client is facing the death penalty through an effective backdoor," she said.
"I find it ironic, Judge, to state that my client will face vigilante justice," she added.
The case, along with the murder trial ofKyle Rittenhouse, made her One.
Here's what you need to know about the lawsuit against Mr. Arbery and his killer:
Who was Ahmad Arbery and what happened to him?
25-year-old Ahmaud Arberywas described by friends and family as an avid athlete and hip-hop fan. Brunswick, Feb. 23, 2020. His High School A former linebacker for the Pirates who once dreamed of playing pro his football, Satira, near Brunswick, Georgia, went out for a jog through his Shores neighborhood. I was.
As he continued to run, he saw Gregory McMichael, 66, his son Travis McMichael, 35, and his neighbor William “Rody” Bryan, 52. ) was discovered. Number of break-ins in the area, including vacant homes under construction. The all-white trio began chasing Mr. Arbery in a truck.
Eventually, they used a car to try to corner Jogger. Travis McMichael and his Ahmaud Arbery got into a physical confrontation and McMichael shot him dead three times.
How did the police investigate the shooting and when was the video released?
Local police made no arrests in the incident for three monthsBody camera footage later released to the public showed the scene at the scene. The co-pilot ignores Mr. Arbery, who is apparently alive and lying on the ground in pain, instead talking to McMichaels and Brian. A second mate on the scene eventually arrived and pronounced Jogger dead. No men were detained
In May 2020, video footage of a man chasing Arbery in a truck was released , prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to take over the case and was arrested shortly thereafter.George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis weeks after the video was released. The deaths of two men helped fuel national racial justice protests in 2020.
What were the charges against McMichaels and William Bryan and how long are they carrying?
The three men face charges in nine different states, including felony murder, felony murder, wrongful imprisonment, aggravated assault with a 12-gauge shotgun, and aggravated assault with a pickup truck. and may be sentenced to: Life imprisonment if guilty. They all pleaded not guilty.
Travis McMichael, who shot Mr. Arbery, was found guilty on all nine counts. Gregory McMichael was acquitted of murder with malice but found guilty of all other charges. Bryan was acquitted of his one count of malice murder and felony murder, but he was found guilty of three counts of felony murder and his three other counts.
All three were sentenced to life in prison on state murder charges last November, and Arbery was found in federal court in February this year for violating his right to use public roads because of his race. was convicted of
A federal juryalso convicted him of three men of attempted kidnapping, and two of McMichael of violating gun laws.
} How long will the murderer be in prison?
On January 7, Travis McMichael and Gregory He McMichael was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Bryan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after Judge Timothy Walmsley said he believed he was "in a very different position" to McMichaels.
All three were sentenced to a minimum of life imprisonment for murder.
But a judge was to decide whether they faced the possibility of parole.
Even if there was a possibility of parole, Bryan would go to Georgia. Under the law he is ineligible for release for at least 30 years.
At the earliest time Brian will be free, he will be 82 years old, but Mr. and Mrs. McMichael will spend the rest of his life in prison.
What was the main argument in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial?
Mr Arbery's family said the killing was a "modern day lynching" and that Ahmad was not armed and not a suspect. It didn't deserve to die, with a claimed local invasion. Prosecutors argued at a trial in Glynn County, Georgia, that, contrary to their claims, the McMichaels actually knew Mr. Arbery was not accused of trespassing.
"I don't think the man actually stole anything from there," Gregory McMichael told investigators after the shooting.
The men also told police that Mr. Arbery was "trapped like a rat," and that Travis McMichael had accused him of stealing. called "f***ing n****r". According to Brian, Mr. Arbery's bleeding corpse.
"There is no question that race was a central part of this case and has been so from the beginning," said Brandon Buskey, director of the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project. is Independent at the start of the Trial .
On the other hand, Mr. and Mrs. McMichaels and Mr. Bryan claimed thatslavery-era Georgia lawswere used to arrest citizens. Mr. Arbery was responsible for the break-in in the area, even though there had been no reports of break-ins in the neighborhood in his seven weeks prior to the shooting.
Mr. Arbery was recorded walking in a house under construction with several others, but the owner said Mr. Arbery stole nothing from it.{134 Travis McMichael said he came "face to face" with Mr. Arbery, and interpreted the 25-year-oldwith his hands in his pockets as , was one of these wanderings as an indication that he was armed. McMichael said his training with the U.S. Coast Guard taught him to "get compliant" by using guns to "defuse the situation."
