Killers Of Black Jogger Ahmaud Arbery Sentenced In GA Murder

Updated at 3:50 p.m.

BRUNSWICK, GA — The three men convicted for their roles in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery all received life sentences Friday.

Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, will spend the rest of their lives in prison, with life sentences plus an additional 20 years each, while William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. will have the chance for parole after 30 years.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley offered harsh comments to the McMichaels for their actions in the incident.

"This was a killing," Walmsley said. "It was callous and occurred far as the court is concerned based upon the evidence because a confrontation was being sought."

"Instead of closure, it may be best to see today's proceeding as an exercise (in) accountability. We are all accountable for our own actions. Sometimes, in today's day and age, that statement is lost upon many. Today the defendants are being held accountable for their actions here in superior court. Everybody is accountable to the rule of law."

Bryan and the McMichaels were all found guilty of murder and other charges in November 2021 for chasing and cornering the 25-year-old unarmed Black man as he ran through their Satilla Shores neighborhood in February 2020. While the McMichaels had guns, Bryan did not, and instead shot video of the pursuit and shooting.

The assailants invoked a decades-old citizen’s arrest law, claiming suspicion of Arbery in connection with a string of burglaries and thefts in the neighborhood. But surveillance video of him entering a neighborhood home under construction played during the trial only showed Arbery milling about the house without taking anything.

The judge, who was drawn into the coastal Georgia community of Glynn County from his home court in Savannah in Chatham County an hour to the north, took a more reserved tone when he addressed Bryan.

"It is obvious from the beginning that he questioned the tragedy that had occurred at the scene it was on the body cam, in fact, questioning whether or not what had occurred had occurred," Walmsley said. "And then took steps early on in this process, I think, that demonstrated that he had grave concerns that what had occurred should not have occurred. And I think that does make Mr. Bryan's situation a little bit different."

But because Bryan was convicted of felony murder — being a party to a fatal crime — on multiple counts, state law requires that he serve a life sentence, which is the equivalent of 30 years in prison. Because Walmsley suspended the 10-year sentence for the false imprisonment charge and the five-year sentence for the attempted false imprisonment charge, Bryan will be eligible for parole in 2052.

Outside the courthouse, after the sentencing was announced, a celebratory crowd gathered to support the Arbery family chanted, "Justice for Ahmaud!"

"No justice, no peace!"

"Black lives matter! Ahmaud's life matters!"

Victim Statements Seek Maximum Punishment

Friday morning, while the convicted defendants' attorneys asked the judge for leniency, Arbery's family said that Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and Bryan, should spend their lives behind bars.

“The man who killed my son sat in this courtroom every single day next to his father,” said Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr. “I’ll never get the chance to sit next to my son. Not at the dinner table. Not for the holidays. Not for a wedding.

“His killers should spend the rest of their lives thinking about what they did. And they should spend that time behind bars.”

Jasmine Arbery, Arbery's sister, described her brother as a tall, dark-skinned, broad-nosed, kinky-haired, handsome Black man with a broad smile, big personality and a positive disposition.

“These are the qualities that made these men think Ahmaud was a dangerous criminal and chase him,” Jasmine Arbery said.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, first spoke to her son.

“Son, I love you as much today as I did the day you were born,” Cooper-Jones said.

Then she addressed the court, saying no one was looking to protect the community when the three men set out after Ahmaud Abery.

“Your honor, these men chose to lie and attack my son and his surviving family,” she 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.

“They were fully committed to their crimes. Let them be fully committed to the punishment. These men deserve the maximum sentence for their crimes.”

Gov. Brian Kemp later led a bipartisan coalition of state legislators to overhaul the citizen's arrest law, banning the type of vigilante behavior Bryan and the McMichaels committed.

A Glynn County jury found the three men guilty of different offenses.

Attorneys Ask For Leniency

Friday, Travis McMichael’s attorney, Robert Rubin, said his client was not so depraved that he didn’t deserve a chance for growth or redemption.

“We're asking the court to reserve the harshest possible sins under the law for those who deserve it for the worst of the worst,” Rubin said. “When the facts of the crime show a darkness of soul, a person is so depraved and heinous as to shock the conscience by their actions or where the offender is such a danger as evidenced by his past conduct whereby his actions post offense such that rehabilitation is remote or impossible.

“Judge, you can send a message that four minutes of conduct does not erase a life well-lived. We're asking you to sentence him to life with the possibility of parole. We ask the court to exercise its discretion in the favor of redemption.”

Laura Hogue, Gregory McMichael's attorney, also asked the judge to consider giving her 66-year-old client a possibility at parole.

“So if life without parole is a sentence that is held for only the worst of the worst, it simply can't be a sentence for a person who never intended that tragic result that took place on February 23,” Hogue said, and referred to the trial video that showed the shooting. “Greg McMichael never even sought to remove his handgun from his holster until you heard the first shot.”

Early Friday morning before the sentencing hearing began, Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough filed four motions seeking to reduce the potential penalty well before Walmsley gaveled open the courtroom. Walmsley denied each of the motions.

After requesting a brief recess, Gough offered more reasons why Bryan should be exempted from the most extreme sentencing.

“Your Honor, like Travis and Gregory McMichael, Roddie Bryan is a first offender,” Gough said. “And Roddie Bryan has lived a life, however well-lived, that warrants an opportunity and potential for redemption in rehabilitation.”

Gough also argued that Bryan was unarmed.

“Roddie did not kill Mr. Arbery, he did not attempt to kill Mr. Arbery, he did not intend to kill Mr. Arbery,” he said. “He had no idea that the McMichaels had guns. He was not a vigilante.

“Mr. Bryan isn't the one who brought a gun he was unarmed. And I think that reflects his intentions and reflects a significantly lesser state of culpability.”

Finally, Gough argued that Bryan was fully cooperative with police, from speaking to police to providing the video footage he recorded on his phone which was the lynchpin to his and the McMichael’s conviction.

“Slick lawyers didn't tell Roddie Bryan to turn over the cell phone, or to talk on the scene on the police body camera, or to go down hours later to the police department that night,” he said. “Brian did that because he wanted the truth to be known, whatever that was it meant.”

(Watch livestream of the court hearing at the bottom of this story.)

Related:

• Ahmaud Arbery Verdict: 3 Defendants Convicted On Murder Charges
• 'Public Lynching': Defense Slams Ahmaud Arbery Rally, No Mistrial
• Ahmaud Arbery Case: Officer Said He Did Not Deputize McMichaels
• Ahmaud Arbery Death Trial: McMichael's Story Changed, Police Say

Sentencing

Travis McMichael, who ultimately fired several fatal shots at Arbery from point-blank range and claimed he feared for his life, was found guilty of all nine charges brought against him, including malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of felony attempt to commit false imprisonment.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, plus 20 years.

Gregory McMichael, the former law enforcement investigator who grabbed his handgun and summoned his son before they set off in Travis’ pickup truck to chase Arbery, was convicted on four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of felony attempt to commit false imprisonment.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, plus 20 years.

William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., who saw the pursuit pass his home and joined in from his own pickup truck, filming the entire incident with his cell phone, was found guilty of three counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of felony attempt to commit false imprisonment.

He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years.

Next month, the three face federal hate crime charges in connection with Arbery’s death.