On Friday, Travis McMichael, his son Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor William Bryan were all sentenced to life in prison. In November, the three men were convicted of murder by a Glynn County jury, after pursuing and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery in February of 2020.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley denied any chance of parole for the father and son. Their neighbor, Bryan, must serve at least 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
“When I thought about this, I thought from a lot of different angles. I kept coming back to the terror that must have been in the mind of the young man running through Satilla Shores,” said Judge Walmsley. “Ahmaud Arbery was then hunted down and shot, and he was killed because individuals here in this courtroom took the law into their own hands.”
Ahmaud Arbery was 25 years old when he was chased down and killed on February 23, 2020. Jasmine Arbery, who is Ahmaud’s sister, said she remembered his humor and described him as someone with a big personality and a positive thinker. In a statement to the judge, she said her brother had dark skin “that glistened in the sunlight”, an athletic build, and thick, curly hair, which she describes as things that made him a target.
“These are the qualities that made these men assume that Ahmaud was a dangerous criminal and chase him with guns drawn,” said Jasmine. “To me, those qualities reflect a young man full of life and energy who looked like me and the people I loved.”
The defense attorney for the McMichaels argued that because the killing was unplanned and unintentional, his clients deserved the possibility of parole. Bryan’s lawyer said that he showed remorse, cooperated with police, and turned over cell phone videos of the shooting. Even so, the judge decided on no parole for the McMichaels and parole after 30 years for Bryan.
The defense attorneys have stated that they plan to appeal the convictions and have 30 days after the sentencing to file them.
