The three white men who chased down and murdered 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in broad daylight have been sentenced.
Travis McMichael, 35, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 66, will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole. Their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Under Georgia law, the minimum requirement for murder is a life sentence, but it was up to Judge Timothy Walmsley to determine whether the men’s punishment would come with or without the possibility of parole. The trio could have also faced a death sentence however prosecutors previously opted against it.
On February 23, 2020, the McMichael’s armed themselves and chased Arbery as he jogged through a Brunswick, Georgia, neighborhood. Bryan recorded the pursuit on his cellphone, including when Travis McMichael fatally shot Arbery. In November 2021, the three men were convicted on a number of charges including felony murder in the slaying of the black jogger.
