GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. – The three men convicted in Ahmaud Arbery’s murder will face sentencing and a federal hate crimes trial in 2022.
State sentencing and trial
Father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan, were found guilty in November of felony murder and multiple other charges in the 25-year-old’s death.
The most severe sentence they could receive is life in prison. Murder is punishable by death in Georgia, but prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty.
Sentencing will be held at the Glynn County Courthouse on January 7 at 10 am.
The hearing comes nearly two years after the McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery through the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick on February 23, 2020. After a struggle, Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery.
Ultimately, the Glynn County jury agreed almost fully with prosecutors on the charges that were brought.
Travis was convicted of all nine charges against him. That includes malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and more. His father Gregory was convicted on eight of nine charges. William Bryan was convicted on six of the nine charges.
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The month-long trial attracted national media coverage and sparked large civil rights demonstrations.
Federal hate crimes trial
The trio is also facing separate hate crime charges in federal court.
The federal indictment reads in part, [the men] “willfully, by force and threat of force…interfered with Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man, because of Arbery’s race.”
It lists offenses such as “the use of dangerous weapons” and an “attempt to kidnap and hold Arbery against his will, which resulted in his death.”
U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood will preside over the trial, set to begin February 7. Court documents show the defendants will have public defenders, a difference from the state trial when all three men hired private attorneys.
Jury selection is expected to be a tedious process due to widespread knowledge of the case, much like state selection.
To streamline the process and allow people who receive a summons to be more candid, they will be asked to complete a questionnaire before jury selection starts.
Jurors will be selected from 43 counties in the court’s Southern District of Georgia, and not just Brunswick and the surrounding area.
The men have pleaded not guilty to all federal charges.
Loved ones remember Ahmaud “Quez” Arbery
Ahmaud Marquez Arbery, “Quez,” was a Brunswick local. His mother, Wanda Cooper, describes him as a loving son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, and friend. His obituary reads that the 25-year-old was well-known for being humble, kind, and well mannered.
Family and friends say Arbery had a smile that would light up a room and that he loved to tell jokes, elicit laughter, and had a beautiful personality. He enjoyed downtime with his family and friends and sports, particularly basketball and football.