Father, Son Get Life For Hate Crime In Ahmaud Arberys Death

Brunswick, Georgia. (AP) - A white father and son convicted of fatally shooting Ahmed Arberry after being chased by a 25-year-old black man in a Georgia area were sentenced Monday to life in prison on federal hate crime charges.

U.S. District Judge Lisa Godby Wood sentenced Travis McMichael, 36, and his father, Greg McMichael, 66, of Brunswick. Both had previously been sentenced to life in prison in state courts for Arbery's murder.

"A young man died. Ahmet Arberi will be 25 years old forever. And what happened to the jury happened because he was black," Wood said.

In February, a federal jury found that the McMichaels and neighbor William "Roddy" Bryan violated Arberry's civil rights because he was harassed because of his race. All three were convicted of attempted kidnapping, and McMichaels was convicted of using a weapon in a crime of violence.

On February 23, 2020, the McMichaels armed themselves with a gun and used a pickup truck to apprehend Arberry as he drove past their home. Brian joins the chase in his truck and uses his cell phone to film Travis shooting McMichael Arberry with a shotgun. McMichaels told police he suspected Arbery of being a burglar, but investigators determined he was unarmed and committed no crime.

Before both sentencings, Wood heard from members of the Arberry family. His mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said every day she felt like her son had been shot.

"It is so unfair, so unfair, so unfair that he died without committing a crime.

Greg McMichael addressed the Arberry family, saying their loss was "indescribable".

"I'm sure my words mean very little to you, but I want to assure you that I never intend for this to happen," he said. "There was no malice in my heart or my son's heart that day."

Outside court, Cooper-Jones responded to her testimony.

"I think he realizes he's made terrible decisions. "Unfortunately, his apology will not bring my son back," she said.

Travis McMichael did not appear in court, but his attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, said her client had no criminal record and served in the U.S. Coast Guard before Arbery's murder. He said the lighter sentence would be in line with what those accused of similar charges have received in other cases, noting that Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd's civil rights. don't charge Floyd was targeted because of his race.

Greg McMichael's attorney, AJ Balbo, pointed to Chauvin's sentence and his client's age and health issues, including a stroke and depression.

Prosecutor Bobby Bernstein said Chauvin at least had prior legal permission to sue Floyd.

"Greg McMichael had no legitimate reason to go after a young man who just picked up a gun and ran down the street," Bernstein said.

Arberry's murder with racial injustice and the murders of unarmed black men in Kentucky, including Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The Justice Department brought federal charges in both cases.

"Our court testimony ... confirmed what many people who watched the video of Ahmed's tragic and unnecessary death felt in their hearts: if he had been white, this would never have happened," said Christopher Perras, another prosecutor. Monday

In January, a Superior Court judge sentenced McMichaels and Bryan to life in prison for Arberry's murder, ending both McMichaels' chances of parole. Bryan was scheduled to appear in court Monday in the federal case.

All three defendants remain in the coastal Glynn County jail in the custody of U.S. marshals, awaiting sentencing following their federal convictions in January.

Because they were charged and convicted of first-degree murder in state court, protocol required them to be handed over to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve their life sentences.

In court documents last week, Travis and Greg McMichael asked a judge to move them to a federal prison, saying they would not be safe in the Georgia prison system that is the subject of an investigation into inmate abuse.

During Travis McMichael's hearing Monday, Copeland said his client received hundreds of death threats after arriving at the state prison and that his photos were circulated on illegal phones there.

"Your Honor, I am concerned that my client is facing the death penalty through the back door," he said, adding that "revenge and revenge" are not grounds for sentencing, "even for defendants who are in public." rebuke."

Arberry's father, Marcus Arberry Sr., said Travis McMichael showed no mercy to his son and deserved to "rot" in state prison.

"You killed him because he was black and you hate black people," he said. "You deserve no mercy.

Wood said he does not have the authority to order the state to release Travis McMichael into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, but he has no interest in doing so in his case. Greg McMichael refused to go to federal prison.

At a hate crime trial in February, prosecutors argued that Arberry's killing was racially motivated by showing jurors nearly two dozen texts and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan used racial slurs and derogatory language against blacks.

Defense attorneys argued that McMichaels and Bryan did not target Arberry because of his race, but acted on a genuine — if mistaken — suspicion that Arberry was committing crimes in their area.

The father and son have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the hate crime for the death of Ahmet Arberi