GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — The three men who killed Ahmaud Arbery have now been sentenced on federal hate crime charges.
Both Greg and Travis McMichael received another life sentence. Their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan was sentenced to 35 years.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington was inside the courtroom Monday where two of the three men apologized to the family.
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In a stunning moment Greg McMichael and Bryan turned to Arbery’s family and apologized. When asked if he wanted to say anything, Travis McMichael simply said no.
It has taken years, but Wanda Cooper Jones, Arbery’s mother, and the rest of Arbery’s family said they feel a sense of peace.
“I’m thankful because It’s been a long fight but I’m thankful that God gave us the strength to continue to fight,” Cooper Jones said. “It was 74 days before we actually got an arrest, so think about today. We got convictions on a federal level.”
A US district judge sentenced all three men convicted of murdering Arbery on federal hate crime charges Monday.
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In February, a jury ruled that Greg McMichael, his son Travis and Bryan targeted Arbery because he was Black.
First to go before the judge Monday morning was Travis McMichael. The judge sentenced him to life plus 10 years on the hate crime charges.
Greg McMichael was sentenced next. I have received life plus seven years.
And finally, Bryan was sentenced Monday afternoon, with the judge giving him 420 months in prison.
Bryan never fired a shot, but the judge said he chased Arbery and then recorded the deadly shooting.
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In a surprising moment, inside court, Greg McMichael turned to the Arbery family and apologized. Bryan also told the family that he was sorry.
“Unfortunately, his apology doesn’t bring back my son. I do accept the apology,” Cooper Jones told Washington.
“When you caught up and it’s looking bad for you and you try to apologize, that’s the wrong time to make an apology. He should have done that, day one,” said Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud Arbery’s father.
As for the Arbery family, they said their focus now turns the former Glynn County district attorney who was indicted for misconduct in the Arbery case.
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