Three white men were sentenced to life in prison today for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man they chased down in their truck and murdered near Brunswick, Georgia in February 2020. Two of the men, Travis McMichael and his father Greg McMichael will be jailed for life without the possibility of parole. Their neighbor, William ‘Roddie’ Bryan, who recorded video of the murder also faces life in prison.
Prosecutors sought to remove the possibility of parole for the McMichaels, but not for Bryan, and the judge agreed. He said that Bryan demonstrated early on that he “had grave concerns about what had occurred,” while the McMichaels turned their backs and “walked away” after Arbery fell bleeding to the street.
The Washington Post
But Bryan won’t be getting out of prison anytime soon. In Georgia, those serving life sentences for violent crimes aren’t considered for parole until they’ve served 30 years.
“A young man with dreams was gunned down in this community. As we understand it, he left his home, apparently to go for a run, and ended up running for his life.”
Judge Timothy Walmsley
Defense attorneys are appealing the convictions, but all three men also face federal hate crime charges in a trial that’s scheduled to begin next month.