Georgia trial – life imprisonment for killer trio after black jogger murder

Less than two years after the murder of the black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in the US state of Georgia, the three white defendants have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Travis M., who shot Arbery, and his father Gregory M. received no parole and an additional 20 years in prison, Judge Timothy Walmsley announced on Friday. The third accused, William B., was also sentenced to life imprisonment, albeit with the possibility of parole. Gregory M. and William B. were involved in the persecution of Arbery.

A jury had already found the three defendants guilty in November, and the sentence has now been announced. The shooter Travis M., 35, was found guilty of the murder by the jury. The two co-defendants, Travis M’s father Gregory M. (66) and neighbor William B. (52) were found guilty of aggravated assault and manslaughter, among other things.

25-year-old Arbery was shot while jogging in the southern state in February 2020. But initially nobody was arrested. The investigation only really got going when the case gained national and international attention in the spring through a disturbing cell phone video of the crime.

Arbery had jogged through Brunswick’s three white convict quarter. According to investigators, the defendants first followed him with their vehicle and then threatened him with firearms. According to the autopsy report, Arbery was shot twice in the chest at close range. According to the investigation, William B. was involved in the persecution and filmed the crime. The defense argued that the men followed Arbery for mistaking him for a burglar.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, asked the judge at the trial on Friday for the maximum sentence for all three convicts, namely life imprisonment with no parole. “These men deserve the maximum sentence for their crimes,” said Cooper-Jones. The victim’s father, Marcus Arbery, said, “I pray that no one in this courtroom ever has to do what we had to do: bury your child.”

Although only one of the defendants fired the fatal shots, the other two were also tried for the murder of Arbery – for their involvement in the crime. Prosecutors argued that the actions of all three men resulted in Arbery’s death. The defendants had pleaded not guilty.

In addition to the Georgia criminal case, the men are also charged under federal law on the alleged racist background. The justice ministry declared last April that the act was classified as a “hate crime”.