FOURTH UPDATE: Friday, 12:09 PM PTGregory McMichael, and Travis McMichael were sentenced in the death case of Ahmaud Abery to life imprisonment without parole.
William is a third defendant “Roddie” Bryan, who took the cellphone video of Arbery’s killing, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Timothy Walmsley, Superior Court Judge, announced the sentences Friday.
After a video of Arbery running through Satilla Shores in February 2020, it was released and the men were arrested. Bryan had taken the video of the chase, and that footage went viral, drawing calls for arrests to be made in Arbery’s death for an incident that happened months earlier.
They claimed that they were acting in self-defense and that they were making an arrest of citizens, suspecting Arbery for burglary. Each of them were charged with a variety of crimes, including murder.
Prosecutors said that the men did not just want to catch Arbery, but also that they had made assumptions about Arbery due to his Black skin.
THIRD UPDATE, Nov. 24, 12:53 PM PT: ABC’s 20/20A special two-hour edition of ABC News will be presented on Friday, focusing on the murder of Ahmaud and his family. ABC News senior correspondent Deborah Roberts, who reports on the trial, interviews with his family members, Wanda Cooper Joneses, and airs it at 9:01 ET/PT.
CBS’48 HoursWe will be taking a look at the trial and interviewing family members, including his mother. Omar Villafranca, CBS News’ reporting correspondent, will also be present. The episode airs Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
SECOND UPDATE, 12/13 PM PTSome cable news commentary and reactions to the verdict
Fox News: Ted Williams, an ex-homicide detective and lawyer, is a contributor to the network. “I know that there were a lot of people in the black community that was deeply concerned as to whether a predominantly white jury in Georgia would convict two white men. I’ve got to tell you, when you look at the way the defense played this case out, they consistently kept trying to pull on the sensitivity, there’s crime in your neighborhood. Hey, black people commit crimes. They pulled out every one of the racial insensitivities that they could without clearly using the word race. That went against them, it hurt. There were fair-minded white people. The majority of this jury was white. They were fair-minded white people who took a look at this case and they made an independent decision. So what we as Americans should be proud of in this verdict, these verdicts, is that American citizens working together irrespective of this race thing, that they could come together and that they could make a decision based and predicated on the evidence that was presented to them.”
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig claimed, “Ultimately this jury showed us that they went about this case carefully. They took their time. I think they identified and zeroed in on the most important, most relevant pieces of evidence, the 911 call and the videotape, and they came to a very careful, nuanced and just verdict.”
MSNBC’s Joy Reid tweeted, “A well argued case by a really good prosecutor, plus crimes that were clear as day, and I cannot stress enough, how important the message this jury has sent is. They have nullified an unjust and now repealed pro-lynching law. And they have restored at least some faith in justice. And a really important note: the blatantly racist tactics of the defense did not work on a nearly all-white jury. The defense chose moral violence; the jury chose to follow the law. The prosecutor in this case should receive awards.”
UPDATE, 11.54 AM PTPresident Joe Biden praised the conviction of three men for Ahmaud Abery’s death “a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country.”
In a statement released by the White House, Biden said, “Mr. Arbery should be here today celebrating the holidays together with his father Marcus Arbery and Wanda Cooper Jones. The verdict will ensure that the perpetrators of this terrible crime are punished. Nothing can bring Mr. Arbery home to his family or community.
“While the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin. My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the Supreme Court, but a reality for all Americans.”
At the time that the video surfaced of Arbery’s killing, then-President Donald Trump called it “a horrible thing” “very disturbing.”
PREVIOUSLY:Three defendants were found guilty of Ahmaud, a Black jogger who was killed last year. The verdict brought an end to the racial justice crisis.
Gregory McMichael 65, Travis 35, and William Bryan 52 were the two defendants.
Major news networks covered the verdicts in Brunswick, GA.
After a video of Arbery running through Satilla Shores in February 2020, it surfaced, and the men were arrested. Bryan had taken the video of the chase, and that footage went viral, drawing calls for arrests to be made in Arbery’s death for an incident that happened months earlier.
They claimed that they were acting in self-defense and that they were making an arrest of citizens, suspecting Arbery for burglary. Each of them were charged with a variety of crimes, including murder.
Prosecutors said that the men did not just want to catch Arbery, but also that they had made assumptions about Arbery due to his Black skin.
Bryan followed them in a second vehicle as the McMichaels, who were armed with weapons, searched for Arbery in their neighbourhood. Travis McMichael shot three shots after they attempted to confront Arbery. Video shows Arbery resisting and trying to grab his weapon, but he was not armed. Prosecutors said there was no evidence Arbery was involved with burglaries in the area.
These men will be sentenced to minimum life sentences. Federal hate crimes charges were also brought against the three men.
Outside the courthouse, Rev. Al Sharpton spoke to a crowd outside the courthouse. “Brunswick Georgia will go down in history as the place where criminal justice took a different turn.”
Ben Crump, who represented Arbery’s father, Marcus, said, “The spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob.”He represented George Floyd’s family, whose death sparked protests across the country.
Jason Sheffield, Travis McMichael’s attorney, said that the verdict had been “disappointing and sad,”But “we also recognize that this is a day of celebration for the Arbery family. We cannot tear our eyes away from the way that they feel about this. And we understand that they feel that they have gotten justice today. We respect that, and we honor that, because we honor this jury trial system.”
The defendants’ attorneys said that they plan to appeal.