Three white men, Gregory McMichaels, Travis McMichaels, and William Bryan, who were accused of felony murder of an unarmed black man jogging in the neighborhood, were sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday, 7^th January 2022. Gregory and Travis were sentenced to life imprisonment without parole while Bryan was sentenced with parole.

Ahmaud Arbery was killed by these men on February 23, 2020, and the case was taken to court until the trial began on November 24, 2021, after the news got widespread attention.

A jury consisting of nine White women, two White men, and one Black man, found the men guilty on a number of charges, including felony murder, in November. 

Walmsley, the judge called for a minute silence before proceeding with the sentence. In his words, “That one minute represents a fraction of the time that Ahmaud Arbery was running in Satilla Shores” Arbery was pursued in the neighborhood for five minutes.

Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, addressed the court before the sentencing of the three men convicted of killing her son. “These men have chosen to lie and attack my son and his surviving family. They each have no remorse and do not deserve any leniency,” Cooper-Jones said in her victim impact statement. “They chose to treat him differently than other people who frequently visited their community. And when they couldn’t sufficiently scare him or intimidate him, they killed him,” she said.   Marcus Arbery, the father of Ahmaud, said when he closes his eyes, the execution of his son kepps playing over in his mind.

Whether to profit from Arbery’s death: After the three men convicted for the murder of Arbery were sentenced to life in prison, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski requested that they not be “allowed to make any money off of their actions, such as a book deal, a movie deal, social media deal or anything along any way, shape or form make any money off of this experience, this conviction, and this trial.” She additionally asked if “any money be made, that it goes into a fund for the Arbery family.” Walmsley told Dunikoski to submit a formal request to the court and said he would review it. Ahmaud’s mother is glad that she and her husband finally got justice for her son. May his soul rest in peace.

Written by: Victoria Oyebande (aka Keks)

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