By Jonathan Allen
(Reuters) – The three white men who were convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man running through their coastal Georgia neighborhood in 2020, are due to be sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Under Georgia law, the only question before Judge Timothy Walmsley in the 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) sentencing hearing at Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick is whether to allow any of the three men to seek parole after 30 years.
A jury found Gregory McMichael, 66, his son Travis McMichael, 35, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, guilty in late November of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony.
Their lawyers say they will appeal the convictions. All three men also face a federal trial in February on hate-crime charges, accused in an indictment of violating Arbery’s civil rights by attacking him because of his “race and color.”
“Obviously we’re going to argue for life with the possibility of parole,” said Frank Hogue, a lawyer for the elder McMichael. “Practically, that doesn’t mean much of a difference for a 65-year-old man.”
Arbery, a 25-year-old avid jogger, was running through the mostly white residential neighborhood of Satilla Shores on the afternoon of Feb. 23 when the McMichaels decided to grab their guns, jump in a pickup truck and give chase. The younger McMichael would later testify to the jury they had a hunch Arbery might be fleeing a crime.
Bryan joined the chase in his own pickup truck after it passed his driveway, and pulled out his cellphone to record Travis McMichael firing a shotgun at Arbery at close range. Arbery had nothing on him besides his running clothes and sneakers.
The video caused outrage when it emerged months later and it became clear that none of the men involved had yet been arrested after a local prosecutor concluded the killing was justified.
The three men will be allowed to address the court if they wish during Friday’s hearing, and prosecutors from the Cobb County district attorney’s office will be able to call on Arbery’s relatives to share victim impact statements.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell)
