The three men who are the suspects in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery have been sentenced to life in prison by a Georgia judge on Friday after they chased the unarmed Black man through their neighborhood.
Two of the suspects, Travis McMichael, 35 years old, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 66 years old, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The third man, a neighbor of the two suspects, William Bryan, 52 years old, was sentenced to life in prison but with the possibility of parole.
Life in Prison
The three White men were convicted of murder and other counts in state court in November that imposed mandatory life sentences. Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the case, asked Judge Timothy R. Walmsley to deny the possibility of parole to the McMichaels. She argued that the two men had displayed a reckless history of "vigilantism" before the killing.
Dunikoski argued that the elder McMichael referred to Arbery as an "asshole" as his body lay on the street while authorities responded to the incident. She said that there was no remorse and no empathy from either of the two men, the New York Times reported.
However, Dunikoski said that Bryan should be eligible for parole partly because he had cooperated with investigators during the case. Judge Walmsley, before issuing the sentences, noted that Arbery was chased for roughly five minutes while running away from the three men on foot. The judge paused and let silence fill the room for one minute to mimic a portion of the terror that the victim might have felt during the incident.
The judge described the killing of Arbery as a "chilling, truly disturbing scene" and told the court that whatever angle he tried to look at, he only saw the terror that must have gripped the victim while he was running. While Walmsley was handing out the sentences, Arbery's mother and father shed tears.
After the younger McMichael was sentenced, the elder McMichael was seen leaning back in his chair and was visibly shaken. Wanda Cooper-Jones, the victim's mother, delivered a victim impact statement earlier in the day. Her speech was aimed at achieving a stiffer sentence and asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence, CNN reported.
Ahmaud Arbery Murder
The crime occurred on a Sunday afternoon when the three men spotted 25-year-old Arbery run by their house. The McMichaels immediately grabbed their guns and pursued the unarmed Black man while driving their white pickup for five minutes. The two men's neighbor, Bryan, saw the commotion and joined the pursuit but was not armed during the incident.
Bryan recorded the incident on video using his cellphone and captured a part of the deadly confrontation between the McMichaels and Arbery. The video showed the two tussling over the shotgun before the younger McMichael shot the victim in the chest. At the trial, the younger McMichael testified that he acted in self-defense after the Black man grabbed his shotgun.
Lawyers that represented the McMichaels said that the two suspected Arbery of being a burglar and recognized him as the man who was captured in surveillance footage that repeatedly wandered a nearby under-construction house. The suspects said they were trying to make a citizen's arrest under a Georgia law, Fox News reported.
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