Washington, Jan 7 (UNI/Xinhua) The three white men who chased and killed black man Ahmaud Arbery two years ago while the latter was jogging in their neighborhood in the US state of Georgia were sentenced to life in prison on Friday, with two of the three murderers being denied any chance for parole.
Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, who killed the 25-year-old Arbery with a shotgun on Feb 23, 2020, were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Their neighbour, William Bryan, who later joined in the deadly pursuit and recorded it with a cellphone video, was granted a parole, but that will happen only after he has served in prison for 30 years.
Greg and Travis McMichael — 66 and 35, respectively – and Bryan, 52, were convicted of murder and other charges in November. They also face a separate federal trial on hate crime charges scheduled for Feb 7.
Arbery’s murder become part of a nationwide reckoning over racial injustice, and Judge Timothy Walmsley said before announcing the sentence that “sentencing does not generally provide closure.”
“In this case, I think many people are seeking closure. The mother, the father, the community, and maybe even parts of the nation, but closure is hard to define and is a granular concept. It’s seen differently by all depending on their perspective and the prism of your lives,” Walmsley said.
