Ahmaud Arbery’s convicted killers Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. sentenced
A father and son and their neighbor have been sentenced to life in prison after they were convicted of murdering 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging through a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, in February 2020.
Judge Timothy Walmsley sentenced Travis McMichael, the man who shot Arbery, and his father Gregory McMichael, who watched the shooting from the back of a pickup truck, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Their neighbor, William Bryan, who recorded video of Arbery’s last moments, was sentenced to life with parole for his role in the death. Bryan, 52, will not be eligible for parole under Georgia law until he has served 30 years in prison because he was convicted of serious violent felonies.
In addition to the life sentences for murder, Walmsley imposed additional sentences for other felony charges.
The additional sentences are:
- For Travis McMichael, 35, Walmsley imposed additional imprisonment sentences of 20 years for McMichael’s aggravated assault conviction and five years for his criminal attempt to commit a felony conviction. The judge said the additional sentences will be served concurrent to each other but consecutive to the life sentence, totaling a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 20 additional years in prison.
- For Gregory McMichael, the judge imposed additional imprisonment sentences of 20 years for McMichael’s aggravated assault conviction, 10 years for his false imprisonment conviction, and five years for his criminal attempt to commit a felony conviction. The judge said the additional sentences will be served concurrent to each other but consecutive to the life sentence, totaling a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 20 additional years in prison.
- For William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the judge imposed additional imprisonment sentences of 10 years for his false imprisonment conviction and five years for his criminal attempt to commit a felony conviction. The judge ruled that the additional sentence totaling 15 years will be suspended, resulting in a total sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
More context: A jury consisting of nine White women, two White men and one Black man, found the men guilty on state charges of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony in November.
What happens next: The defense teams for all three men have said they plan to appeal their clients’ convictions.
The men will be back in court in February, for the beginning of their federal trial where they will face hate crime charges for Arbery’s death.
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