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Ahmaud Arbery: the men who killed him will receive their sentence

2022-01-07T14:02:38.703Z


The three white men who hunted down and killed Ahmaud Arbery will find out this Friday if they will spend their lives in prison.


Three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery found guilty 5:25

(CNN) -

The three white men who hunted down and killed Ahmaud Arbery will be in Glynn County Courthouse, where they were convicted, this Friday to see if they will spend their lives in prison.


Travis McMichael, 35, his father, Gregory McMichael, 66, and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, were convicted of a series of charges, including a felony, in the 2020 death of Black Racer from 25 years.

Sentencing proceedings are expected to begin at 10 am ET.

  • Jury finds three defendants guilty of killing Ahmaud Arbery

Although murder is punishable by death in Georgia, prosecutors have said they would seek life in prison without parole.

Under Georgia law, even if Judge Timothy Walmsley allows probation, it will not be considered for 30 years.

Following the November verdict, Walmsley said it would give attorneys time to "gather any evidence that may be shown to be tort by the state or mitigation by the defense."

Arbery's family will be able to make statements aimed at producing harsher sentences, while supporters of McMichaels and Bryan can present witnesses to press for lower sentences.

Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery's mother, intends to release a statement, said her attorney, S. Lee Merritt.

Walmsley may consider other factors, such as that it was Travis McMichael who shot Ahmaud Arbery.

Regardless of the sentences, the long legal saga is not over: the men's lawyers say they will appeal the verdicts;

a federal hate crime trial is scheduled for next month;

Arbery's mother has filed a civil lawsuit;

and the original prosecutor faces charges for her alleged handling of the case.

  • What's next after the verdicts in the trial in the death of Ahmaud Arbery

They could spend decades in prison

The men believed Ahmaud Arbery had committed a crime on February 23, 2020 in his Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick, they told police.

The McMichaels were armed and chased him, and Bryan later joined the chase, searching her from his truck.

Bryan's video shows Travis McMichael getting out of his truck and confronting Arbery, who fights Travis over a shotgun before young McMichael fatally shoots him.

The McMichaels claimed they were carrying out a citizen's arrest and acting in self-defense.

Bryan said he was not involved in the death.

Authorities made no immediate arrests.

The men were so confident in their defense that they had Bryan's video posted in May 2020, according to criminal defense attorney Alan Tucker.

That helped trigger his downfall.

The 36-second video sparked outrage that soon coincided with protests over the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

The McMichaels were arrested two days after the video went viral.

Bryan was arrested two weeks after the McMichaels.

The men have pleaded not guilty.

  • What we learned from testimony in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial

At trial, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski punched holes in the arguments that they allegedly acted in self-defense and against citizen arrest statements, emphasizing that Travis McMichael acknowledged that he never saw Ahmaud Arbery armed and never heard Arbery threaten anyone.

She pointed to inconsistencies between her testimony and what she initially told investigators, prompting him to testify that he was "confused" and traumatized when police arrived.

Dunikoski questioned how Arbery could be an assailant when he was unarmed and on foot and repeatedly tried to elude three men, two of them armed and in a pickup truck.

A jury of nine white women, two white men, and one black man listened to 23 witnesses over eight days.

During 11 hours of deliberation, the jurors asked to see two clips of the video.

Travis McMichael was convicted of all counts: murder by malice, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of false imprisonment, and one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony.

His father was convicted on all counts except malicious murder, and Bryan was found guilty on all counts in addition to malicious murder, one felony murder count and one aggravated battery charge.

Appeals to come, say lawyers for men who killed Ahmaud Arbery

With the death penalty off the table, each murder conviction carries a life sentence, with or without parole.

The maximum sentences are 20 years for aggravated battery, 10 years for false imprisonment, and five years for attempted felony.

In addition to eligibility for parole, Walmsley will decide whether men serve their sentences all at once or consecutively, which means they must finish each sentence before starting the next.

Following the verdicts, Travis McMichael's attorneys said their client "regrets what happened to Ahmaud Arbery" and that they plan to appeal.

One of the father's attorneys, Laura Hogue, was "stunned" by the verdict and intends to appeal, she said.

Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, said he feels "the appellate courts will reverse this conviction."

Race was a constant factor, and not just because of the defendants' and Arbery's skin tone.

Walmsley raised concerns about the composition of the jury, and Gough and Hogue were charged with making insensitive remarks, with the latter being charged with dehumanizing Arbery by speaking of his "long, dirty fingernails" during closing arguments.

During the jury selection, Gough complained about a shortage of older white men without college degrees.

Glynn County is 69% white and 27% black.

Race could be a component of the appeals process, as Gough repeatedly asked that no trials be held because prominent black pastors accompanied the family into the courtroom and attended a "Wall of Prayer" outside the courthouse. during the trial.

Dunikoski alleged that Gough's complaints about the black pastors in the courtroom led to the Wall of Prayer.

"That is good advocacy, because now he asked for the judgment to be annulled for something he caused," he said.

Dunikoski later added that Gough "I think he intentionally and strategically did what he did in an effort to try to potentially insert some error into the case should he lose and go on appeal."

  • Ahmaud Arbery was hit with a truck before he died, and his killer would have used a racial slur, according to the investigator

Ahmaud Arbery

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-01-07

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