Two of the three white men who chased and killed African-American Ahmaud Arbery while he was running in the US state of Georgia two years ago were sentenced to life in prison, with two of the three murderers refused parole.
Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release on Friday for shooting and killing 25-year-old Arbery with a shotgun on February 23, 2020.Their next-door neighbour, William Bryan, who subsequently participated in the deadly pursuit and recorded it on his smartphone, was given freedom, but only after serving 30 years in jail.
Arbery, who was unarmed and only jogging near his house on the outskirts of Brunswick, Georgia, was suspected by Greg McMichael, a veteran police investigator, of being the perpetrator in break-in instances in the area.
After cornering Arbery, he grabbed pistols and pursued him down in a pick-up truck with his son, who struggled with him and shot him three times at close range to kill him. In November 2021, Greg and Travis McMichael, 66 and 35 years old, respectively, and Bryan, 52, were found guilty of murder and other offences.
They also have a federal trial slated for February 7 on hate crime accusations. Judge Timothy Walmsley said on Friday before handing the sentence that "sentencing does not often give closure." Arbery's murder has become part of a national reckoning over racial injustice.
"I believe many people are looking for closure in this matter." Closure can be defined as the mother, the father, the community, and possibly even portions of the country, but it is a granular idea that is difficult to describe. "Everyone sees it differently based on their perspective and the prism through which they view their life," Walmsley added.
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