Ahmaud Arbery Murder Case: Sentencing in U.S. District Court for Greg McMichael convicted of federal hate crimes
AGN.News Team
August 8, 2022
BRUNSWICK (AGN.News) – Greg McMichael, a former Glynn County police officer, was convicted of federal hate crimes in U.S. District Court and today he was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.
On February 22, 2022, he was convicted of federal hate crimes and an illegal gun charge for the Feb. 23, 2020, murder of the 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
Before his sentencing, an apologetic McMichael, 66, expressed regret to the Arbery family for what had happened.
“The loss you have endured is beyond description,” said McMichael, “There are no words. … I never wanted any of this to happen. There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day.”
Greg McMichael and the two other white men (his son and a neighbor) targeted Arbery because he was Black. The jury also found the three men interfered with Arbery’s right to use a public street and attempted to kidnap Arbery in violation of his constitutional rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
“You failed your son,” Ruby Arbery, Arbery’s aunt, said. “You had him believing that what he did was above the law. … To Gregory, to put his child into doing something like that was a terrible thing. He took my nephew’s life.”
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, said McMichael deserved the maximum punishment.
“I struggle to come to the realization that a father would actually accompany his son to take a life,” she said.
She added, “He’s still alive to communicate with his son between prison walls. But my son is gone forever.”
What happened Ahmaud Arbery?
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was jogging through a Brunswick neighborhood in Glynn County, Georgia.
As he exited home under construction, three white men, Travis McMichael, armed with a shotgun, and his father, Gregory McMichael, armed with a handgun, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, in his truck and using his phone to video the chase, erroneously assumed he was a burglar. The two McMichaels who are now carrying guns, began chasing Arbery in their pickup truck (the son driving and the father in the bed of the truck).
What did the men do to Arbery?
The three white men pursued Arbery in their trucks for several minutes, using the vehicles to block his path as he tried to run away. Two of the men, Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, were armed and in one vehicle. Their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, was in another vehicle.
After overtaking Arbery, Travis McMichael exited his truck and assaulted Arbery with a shotgun. As Arbery attempted to defend himself, Travis McMichael shot him three times (twice in the chest), murdering him. Bryan recorded this confrontation and murder of Arbery on his cell phone.
Federal and state charges
It was reported that at the urging of Gregory McMichael, a local attorney provided Bryan’s video to local radio station WGIG, which published the video on May 5. The video went viral on YouTube and Twitter. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested the McMichaels on May 7 and Bryan on May 21, charging them with felony murder and other crimes.
On June 24, 2020, a Cobb County grand jury indicted each of the three men on charges of malice murder, felony murder, and other crimes. Their trial began in November 2021 in the Glynn County Superior Court.
All three were convicted in Glynn County Superior Court on November 24, 2021 of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. Travis McMichael was further convicted of malice murder.
On January 7, 2022, the McMichaels were sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole plus 20 years, with Bryan sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
On February 22, 2022, the three men were found guilty in a federal court of attempted kidnapping and the hate crime of interference with rights, while the McMichaels were also convicted of one count of using firearms during a crime of violence.
Today, August 8, 2022, the three men were sentenced in U.S. District Court before U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood. First, Travis McMichael, the man who shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery was sentenced to life in prison for federal hate crimes convictions involving the 25-year-old’s slaying. There is also no parole in the federal prison system.
“You received a fair trial,” U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood told McMichael. “It was the kind of trial Ahmaud Arbery did not receive.”
His attorney waned Judge Wood to send him to federal prison and not state prison.
Wood denied the request to send McMichael into federal custody. She noted the state of Georgia was the first to arrest, try, convict and sentence McMichael for Arbery’s murder. When that is the case, defendants who are later convicted of federal crimes begin serving their time in state court, she said
Greg McMichael, addressing the court said. “I pray that God’s peace will come to the Arbery family and this entire community.”
McMichael, like his son will now be turned over to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve his life sentence, since the state of Georgia was the first to try, convict, and sentence him for Arbery’s murder.
COVID-19 PREVENTION
STOP THE SPREAD! GET VACCINATED!
VACCINES ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE!
Everyone is being urged by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC.gov) to get vaccinated, wear masks, practice social distancing, and wash hands as a way to cut down on the transmission rate.
For more information on local responses to the novel coronavirus also called … COVID-19, contact your local healthcare provider, visit coronavirus.gov or visit cdc.gov for the United States response to the coronavirus.
News you can use! Enjoy the best of news from your community by Alphabet Global News.
ALPHABET GLOBAL NEWS
Reliable. Trusted. Local. News.
On Mobile … Fast!
Written by
AGN.News Team
Disclaimer: This post does not represent the views or viewpoint of the owner of AlpLocal.com, AGN News or its representatives or reporters. Any content which references any person, entity or group with similar names, descriptions, or business interest in any geographical location or similar businesses is merely a coincidence and not directed at said business. AGN News is compiled from submissions by contributors or other sources.
