Three men have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Judge Timothy Walmsley sentenced Travis McMichael and his father Gregory McMichael to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday (January 7).
William “Roddie” Bryan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He will be eligible for parole after 30 years behind bars.
Before issuing the sentences, Judge Walmsley made the court sit in silence for one minute. He noted it was just a fraction of the time that Ahmaud Arbery was running for his life.
“In this case, I think many people are seeking closure,” Judge Walmsley said. “The mother, the father, the community, and maybe even parts of the nation, but closure is hard to define and is a granular concept. It’s seen differently by all depending on their perspective and the prism of your lives.”
He added, “Instead of closure, maybe it would be best to see today’s proceeding as an exercise in accountability. We are all accountable for our own actions. Today demonstrates that everybody is accountable to the rule of law. Taking the law into your own hands is a dangerous endeavor.”
Multiple members of Ahmaud Arbery’s family spoke at the sentencing on Friday. His mother Wanda Cooper-Jones called for her son’s killers to receive no leniency.
“Your honor, these men have chosen to lie and attack my son and his surviving family,” she said. “They each have no remorse and do not deserve any leniency. This wasn’t a case of mistaken identity or mistaken fact. They chose to target my son because they didn’t want him in their community.”
She continued, “They chose to treat him differently than other people who frequently visited their community. And when they couldn’t sufficiently scare him or intimidate him, they killed him.”
Last November, the McMichaels and Bryan were found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
The three white men chased down Ahmaud Arbery while he jogged through their neighborhood in February 2020. Travis McMichael fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man, who was unarmed.
View some of the reactions to the sentencing below.
I cannot forget that when these white supremacists murdered Ahmaud, cops let them go, prosecutor covered it up, & but for a leaked cell phone video—theyd still be free. White supremacy is a national cancer we must eradicate.
