Men Convicted in Hate Crime Murder of Ahmaud Arbery Get 2nd Life Sentence

The men convicted of federal hate crimes in Ahmaud Arbery's 2020 murder were both given another sentence of life in prison Monday, while their neighbor was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

A U.S. District Court judge in Georgia handed down the life sentences to Travis and Greg McMichael, and the 35-year sentence to William “Roddie” Bryan, the McMichael's neighbor. The judge also ordered all three men to serve their sentences in state prison, not federal prison as had been requested by their attorneys, which tends to be safer for inmates. The McMichaels were previously sentenced to life in prison without parole earlier this year in Georgia state court. Bryan was also previously sentenced to life, but was granted the possibility of parole. 

Bryan and Greg McMichael apologized to Arbery's family in court Monday. Arbery's mother said Monday that "it's so unfair that [Ahmaud] was killed while he was not even committing a crime." The McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery through their Georgia neighborhood, claiming they suspected him in connection to alleged break-ins in the area. Travis McMichael fatally shot Arbery with a shotgun, while Bryan filmed the fatal encounter on his cellphone.

News sources across the political spectrum highlighted the sentencing, especially left- and center-rated sources, which generally tend to focus more on examples of racism and racial violence than right-rated sources do.