Sentencing In Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial Set For January

Atlanta GA

14 December, 2021

10:10 AM

Description

BRUNSWICK, GA — The three white men convicted in the February 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery will learn their punishment the first week of the new year. Sentencing for Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan is scheduled for Jan. 7 at 10 a.m., according to court documents released by the Glynn County Superior Court Clerk. A Glynn County jury found all three men guilty of playing some part in the Feb. 23, 2020, shooting death of the 25-year-old unarmed Black man who was seen running through a Satilla Shores subdivision on that day. The three men were convicted on Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving, after the jury deliberated for about 11 hours over the course of two days. The McMichaels — believing Arbery was involved in a number of burglaries in the neighborhood and having evidence that he had trespassed in a nearby unfinished home — armed themselves with a shotgun (Travis) and a handgun (Gregory) and chased after him in a pickup truck. They later told police that they were seeking to make a citizen's arrest, invoking a Georgia law that has since been rewritten to outlaw what has been deemed vigilanteism. Bryan saw the pursuit pass his home and he joined the chase with his own pickup truck, using his camera to film the incident. Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal gunshot blows at Arbery, was found guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder and other charges; in total he was convicted on nine criminal charges. Gregory McMichael was found not guilty of malice murder but guilty of four counts of felony murder and other charges. Bryan was found not guilty of malice murder and not guilty of one count of felony murder but guilty of three counts of felony murder and other charges. A trial on federal hate crime charges against the three men is set to begin a month after their state sentencing hearing, on Feb. 7. See Also: 'Public Lynching': Defense Slams Ahmaud Arbery Rally, No MistrialArbery Shooter Travis McMichael Calls Fight For Gun Life Or DeathGA Citizen's Arrest Law Overhauled: Kemp