BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) 鈥� The white father and son who chased and killed in a Georgia neighborhood each received a second life prison sentence Monday 鈥� for committing federal hate crimes, months after getting their first for murder 鈥� at a hearing that brought a close to more than two years of criminal proceedings.
U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood handed down the sentences against Travis McMichael, 36, and his father, Greg McMichael, 66, reiterating the gravity of the February 2020 killing that . William 鈥淩oddie鈥� Bryan, 52, who recorded cellphone video of the slaying, was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
鈥淎 young man is dead. Ahmaud Arbery will be forever 25. And what happened, a jury found, happened because he鈥檚 Black,鈥� Wood said.
The McMichaels were previously sentenced to life without parole in state court for Arbery鈥檚 murder and had asked the judge to to serve their sentences, saying they were worried about their safety in the state prison system. Bryan had sought to serve his federal sentence first. Wood declined all three requests.
The sentences imposed Monday brought an end to the second trial against the men responsible for Arbery鈥檚 slaying, which along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky fueled a wave of protests across the country against the killings of unarmed Black people.
In February, a federal jury convicted the McMichaels and Bryan of , concluding they targeted him because of his race. All three were also found guilty of attempted kidnapping, and the McMichaels were convicted of using guns in the commission of a violent crime.
The McMichaels armed themselves with guns and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after he ran past their home on Feb. 23, 2020. Bryan, a neighbor, joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun. The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar, but investigators determined he was unarmed and had committed no crimes.
鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful,鈥� Arbery鈥檚 mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters outside the courthouse after all three sentences had been imposed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long fight. I鈥檓 so thankful God gave us the strength to continue to fight.鈥�
The hearings marked the first time the men involved in the deadly chase expressed any remorse to Arbery鈥檚 family. Only Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shots, chose to remain silent when given a chance to speak in court.
Greg McMichael told Arbery's family their loss was 鈥渂eyond description.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 sure my words mean very little to you, but I want to assure you I never wanted any of this to happen,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here was no malice in my heart or my son鈥檚 heart that day.鈥�
Bryan said he was sorry.
鈥淚 never intended any harm to him, and I never would have played any role in what happened if I knew then what I know now," Bryan said.
In giving Bryan a lower sentence, Wood noted he had not brought a gun to the pursuit of Arbery and preserved his cellphone video, which was crucial to the prosecutions.
Travis McMichael's attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, said a lighter sentence would be more consistent with what similarly charged defendants have received in other cases, noting that the officer who killed in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin, got 21 years in prison for violating Floyd鈥檚 civil rights, though he was not charged with targeting Floyd because of his race.
Greg McMichael's attorney, A.J. Balbo, also cited the Chauvin sentence as well as his client's age and health problems, which he said include a stroke and depression.
During the February hate crimes trial, prosecutors fortified their case that Arbery鈥檚 killing was motivated by racism by showing the jury roughly two dozen text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan and made disparaging comments about Black people.
Prosecutor Christopher Perras said the trial evidence proved "what so many people felt in their hearts when they watched the video of Ahmaud鈥檚 tragic and unnecessary death: This would have never happened if he had been white.鈥�
A state Superior Court judge imposed for the McMichaels and Bryan in January for Arbery's murder, with both McMichaels denied any chance of parole. All three defendants have remained jailed in coastal Glynn County, in the custody of U.S. marshals, while awaiting sentencing after their federal convictions.
Because they were first charged and convicted of murder in a state court, they will be turned over to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve their life terms in a state prison.
Copeland argued unsuccessfully for Travis McMichael to remain in federal custody, saying he has received hundreds of threats that he will be killed soon after arriving at state prison and that his photo has been circulated there on illegal phones.
鈥淚 am concerned your honor that my client effectively faces a back door death penalty," she said, adding that 鈥渞etribution and revenge鈥� were not sentencing factors, even for a defendant who is 鈥減ublicly reviled.鈥�
Arbery鈥檚 father, Marcus Arbery Sr., said Travis McMichael had shown his son no mercy and deserved to 鈥渞ot" in state prison.
鈥淵ou killed him because he was a Black man and you hate Black people," he said. 鈥淵ou deserve no mercy.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala contributed to this story from Atlanta.
Russ Bynum, The Associated Press
