Early this January, a Georgia judge sentenced both Travis McMichael, the man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery and his father, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge issued a lesser sentence of life with the possibility of parole to the other white man who is convicted of murdering Mr. Arbery.
Ahmaud Arbery was a 25-year-old Black man whom these men had chased through their neighborhood. The three men pursued him in a pair of trucks. They suspect him of property crimes in the area. The chase only ended when Arbery was blocked in by the trucks and clashed physically with Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery three times at close range with a shotgun.
Bryan captured the incident on his cellphone camera. The footage was widely distributed online and it quickly stirred national outrage.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley was responsible for sentencing Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, as well as William “Roddie” Bryan. The three were convicted of the killing about six weeks ago. The men who were convicted of killing Arbery have now learned their fates.
Travis McMichael, 35, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years without the possibility of parole. Greg McMichael, 66, was also sentenced to life plus 20 years without the possibility of parole. Their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan on the other hand, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
The state also recommended making a condition of the sentence that none of the three men can make money off their conviction or anything else that is related to the crime they committed. Also, the state requested that if they do make money off it, it goes into a fund for the Arbery family. The judge requested a formal write-up clarifying the terms before he made a decision.
The main question before Judge Timothy R. Walmsley was whether Mr. Arbery’s murderers should be eligible for parole after 30 years. This is the earliest possible opportunity for such offenders under Georgia law.
Lead Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski asked the judge to deny the possibility of parole to the McMichaels. She argued that they had displayed a reckless history of “vigilantism” before the killing. She also noted that the elder Mr. McMichael had referred to Mr. Arbery as an “asshole” as his body lay in the street and authorities responded.
Dunikoski said, “There’s been no remorse and certainly no empathy from either man.”
She also adds that Mr. Bryan should be eligible for parole in part because of his cooperation with the investigators.
Judge Walmsley noted that Mr. Arbery had been chased for about five minutes while he ran from the men on foot. And to illustrate the sense of time and also to emphasize the terror he said Mr. Arbery must have felt at that moment, the judge paused and requested silence to fill the room for one minute.
He said, “That one minute represents a fraction of the time that Ahmaud Arbery was running in Satilla Shores.” He added, “When I thought about this, I thought from a lot of different angles, and I kept coming back to the terror that must have been in the mind of the young man running through Satilla Shores.”
Prior to the sentencing, Arbery’s family delivered emotional victim impact statements.
Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother said, “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… and when they couldn’t sufficiently scare him or intimidate him, they killed him.”
