UPDATED 4:18 P.M.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (Reuters) -A judge sentenced a white father and son to life in prison and their neighbor to 35 years on Monday for a federal hate crime in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man shot after jogging in a suburban Georgia neighborhood in a case exemplifying racist violence and vigilantism in America.
Travis McMichael, a 36-year-old former U.S. Coast Guard mechanic, his father Gregory McMichael, a 66-year-old former Glynn County police officer who later worked for the local prosecutor’s office, and William “Roddie” Bryan, a 52-year-old mechanic, were sentenced in the coastal city of Brunswick.
The three already are serving life sentences after being convicted of murder in a state trial last November, with only Bryan given the possibility of parole. All three then were convicted in February of federal charges of violating Arbery’s civil rights by attacking him because of his race and of attempted kidnapping, with the McMichaels also found guilty of a firearms charge.
They were sentenced on the federal charges in separate hearings on Monday by U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood. In handing down the younger McMichael’s sentence first, Wood said widely seen cellphone video of him shooting Arbery, 25, at close range with a shotgun was seared into her memory.
“You acted because of the color of Mr. Arbery’s skin,” the judge told McMichael, who looked ashen as the sentence was pronounced.
Gregory McMichael, testifying before he was sentenced, told Arbery’s family he prayed for “God’s peace” to come to them.
“The loss that you’ve endured is beyond description,” he said as some of Arbery’s relatives wiped away tears in a crowded courtroom that included civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. “I’m sure that my words mean very little to you, but I want to assure you I never wanted any of this to happen. There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day.”
He apologized to his son, who declined his own chance to testify, and to his wife, who began sobbing, but did not explicitly apologize to Arbery’s family.
The judge said Bryan deserved a shorter sentence than the McMichaels because he not bring a gun to the chase.
Bryan later told the court: “I’m glad to finally have the chance to say to Arbery’s family and friends how sorry I am for what happened to him on that day.”
‘THREE DEVILS’
Marcus Arbery, the slain man’s father, told the court during the first hearing: “These three devils have broken my heart into pieces that cannot be found or repaired.” Referring to Travis McMichael, he added: “You hate Black people.”
“I struggled to come to the realization that a father could actually accompany his son to take a life,” Wanda Cooper Jones, Arbery’s mother, told the second hearing in urging a life sentence for Gregory McMichael.
Arbery’s case is one in a series of killings of Black people in recent years that have drawn attention to the issue of racism in the U.S. criminal justice system and law enforcement. It also highlighted the broader issue of U.S. gun violence.
Arbery, an avid jogger and fitness buff, was running through the leafy, mostly white Satilla Shores neighborhood, near Brunswick, on a February 2020 afternoon when the McMichaels decided to grab their guns, jump in a pickup truck and give chase. Their neighbor Bryan joined the chase in his own pickup truck and pulled out his cellphone to record Travis McMichael firing a shotgun at Arbery at close range. Arbery had nothing on him besides his running clothes and sneakers.
The video emerged months later, prompting anti-racism protests in many U.S. cities because the three men had not been arrested after a local prosecutor concluded the killing was justified.
The McMichaels had said they believed that Arbery appeared suspicious, speaking of a series of neighborhood break-ins. No evidence ever emerged connecting Arbery to any Satilla Shore thefts.
The three were convicted in state court of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony, with a jury rejecting self-defense claims. They have appealed.
Both McMichaels sought to be transferred out of the state prison system into a federal prison they perceived as safer. Wood said the rules require that they return to the state prison system where they already are serving life sentences.
A lawyer for the younger McMichael, Amy Lee Copeland, said he has received death threats.
“This case involves at least in part concerns of vigilante justice,” she told the court. “I realize the rich irony, judge, in expressing my concern that my client will face vigilante justice himself.”
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Brunswick, Ga.; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Donna Bryson)
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UPDATED 12:51 P.M.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (Reuters) -A judge sentenced white father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael to life in prison on Monday for a federal hate crime in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man shot after jogging in a suburban Georgia neighborhood in a case that involved issues of racist violence and vigilantism in America.
U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced Travis McMichael, a 36-year-old former U.S. Coast Guard mechanic, and Gregory McMichael, a 66-year-old former Glynn County police officer who later worked for the local prosecutor’s office, in the coastal city of Brunswick.
Both men already are serving life sentences with no possibility of parole after being convicted of Arbery’s murder in a state trial last November. They were the first two of the three white men convicted in February in a subsequent federal trial to be sentenced in consecutive hearings on Monday.
In handing down the younger McMichael’s sentence, Wood said the widely seen cellphone video of him shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun was seared into her memory.
“You acted because of the color of Mr. Arbery’s skin,” the judge told McMichael, who looked ashen as the sentence was pronounced.
The two McMichaels and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, were convicted of violating Arbery’s civil rights by attacking him because of his race and of attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels also were convicted of a federal firearms charge. Bryan, who worked as a mechanic, is scheduled to be sentenced later on Monday.
Arbery’s case is one in a series of killings of Black people in recent years that have drawn attention to the issue of racism in the U.S. criminal justice system and law enforcement. It also highlighted the broader issue of U.S. gun violence.
The slain man’s father, Marcus Arbery, told the court during the first hearing: “These three devils have broken my heart into pieces that cannot be found or repaired.” Referring to Travis McMichael, he added: “You hate Black people.”
“I struggled to come to the realization that a father could actually accompany his son to take a life,” Wanda Cooper Jones, Arbery’s mother, told the second hearing in urging a life sentence for Gregory McMichael.
Travis McMichael, who declined his right to testify at the hearing, had asked through his lawyer to be transferred out of the state prison system into a federal prison he perceived to be safer. Wood said the rules required that McMichael return to the state prison system where he is already serving a life sentence.
His lawyer, Amy Lee Copeland, said he has received death threats.
“This case involves at least in part concerns of vigilante justice,” she told the court. “I realize the rich irony, judge, in expressing my concern that my client will face vigilante justice himself.”
Federal prosecutors argued any such transfer would amount to special treatment with no legal basis.
The three men were convicted last November in state court of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony, with a jury rejecting self-defense claims. They have appealed.
Arbery, an avid jogger and fitness buff, was running through the leafy mostly white Satilla Shores neighborhood, near Brunswick, on a February 2020 afternoon when the McMichaels decided to grab their guns, jump in a pickup truck and give chase. Their neighbor Bryan joined the chase in his own pickup truck and pulled out his cellphone to record Travis McMichael firing a shotgun at Arbery at close range. Arbery had nothing on him besides his running clothes and sneakers.
The video emerged months later, prompting anti-racism protests in many U.S. cities because the McMichaels and Bryan had not been arrested after a local prosecutor concluded the killing was justified.
The McMichaels have said they believed that Arbery appeared suspicious, speaking of a series of neighborhood break-ins. No evidence ever emerged connecting Arbery to any Satilla Shore thefts.
In the hate crimes trial, the McMichaels had agreed to plead guilty and the son acknowledged in court that he singled out Arbery because of his “race and color.” The judge rejected the plea agreement because it would have bound her to a 30-year sentence to be served in federal prison before the men were returned to the Georgia prison system. The plea deals were subsequently withdrawn.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Brunswick, Ga.; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; editing by Donna Bryson and Howard Goller)
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BRUNSWICK, Ga. (Reuters) -A judge sentenced Travis McMichael to life in prison on Monday for committing federal hate crimes in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man shot while jogging in a mostly white Georgia neighborhood in a case that involved issues of racist violence and vigilantism in America.
U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced McMichael, a 36-year-old white former U.S. Coast Guard mechanic, in the coastal city of Brunswick. McMichael already is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole after being convicted of Arbery’s murder in a state trial last November. He was the first of the three white men convicted in February in a subsequent federal trial to be sentenced in consecutive hearings on Monday.
In handing down the sentence, Wood said the widely seen cellphone video of McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun was seared into her memory.
“You acted because of the color of Mr. Arbery’s skin,” the judge told McMichael, who looked ashen as the sentence was pronounced.
McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, 66, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, were found guilty of violating Arbery’s civil rights by attacking him because of his race and of attempted kidnapping. Gregory McMichael and Bryan are scheduled to be sentenced later in the day.
Arbery’s case is one in a series of killings of Black people in recent years that have drawn attention to the issue of racism in the U.S. criminal justice system and law enforcement. It also highlighted the broader issue of U.S. gun violence.
The slain man’s father, Marcus Arbery, told the court during the hearing: “These three devils have broken my heart into pieces that cannot be found or repaired.” Referring to Travis McMichael, he added: “You hate Black people.”
Travis McMichael, who declined his right to testify at the hearing, had asked through his lawyer to be transferred out of the state prison system into a federal prison he perceived to be safer. Wood said the rules required that McMichael return to the state prison system where he is already serving a life sentence.
His lawyer, Amy Lee Copeland, said a Georgia state prison was too dangerous for him and that he had received death threats.
“This case involves at least in part concerns of vigilante justice,” she told the court. “I realize the rich irony, judge, in expressing my concern that my client will face vigilante justice himself.”
Federal prosecutors argued any such transfer would amount to special treatment for which there is no legal basis.
The three men were convicted last November in state court of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony, with a jury rejecting self-defense claims. They have appealed their state convictions.
Gregory McMichael was a former Glynn County police officer who later worked for the local prosecutor’s office. Roddie Bryan worked as a mechanic.
Arbery had gone jogging through the leafy Satilla Shores neighborhood, near Brunswick, on a February 2020 afternoon when the McMichaels decided to grab their guns, jump in a pickup truck and give chase. Their neighbor Bryan joined the chase in his own pickup truck and pulled out his cellphone to record Travis McMichael firing a shotgun at Arbery at close range. Arbery had nothing on him besides his running clothes and sneakers.
The video emerged months later, prompting anti-racism protests in a number of cities because the McMichaels and Bryan had not been arrested after a local prosecutor concluded the killing was justified.
The McMichaels have said they believed that Arbery appeared suspicious, speaking of a series of neighborhood break-ins. No evidence ever emerged connecting Arbery to any Satilla Shore thefts.
In the hate crimes trial, the McMichaels were also convicted of a federal firearms charge.
In that case, the McMichaels had agreed to plead guilty and the son acknowledged in court that he singled out Arbery because of his “race and color.” The judge rejected the plea agreement because it would have bound her to a 30-year sentence to be served in federal prison before the men were returned to the Georgia prison system, considered harsher than federal penitentiaries. The plea deals were subsequently withdrawn.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Brunswick, Ga.; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; editing by Donna Bryson and Howard Goller)
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