Man Charged in Ahmaud Arbery Murder Asks for Leniency Ahead of Sentencing
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Man Charged in Ahmaud Arbery Murder Asks for Leniency Ahead of Sentencing
Greg McMichael looks at the gallery during the testimony of his son, Travis McMichael’s in the trial of he, his son and William “Roddie” Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. The man who initiated the neighborhood chase that resulted in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery is asking a federal judge to show leniency when he’s sentenced next week for a federal hate crime conviction. Greg McMichael’s defense attorney says in court filing that his client should be spared a life sentence.
Greg McMichael , the man who initiated the chase after Ahmaud Arbery, is asking a federal judge to show leniency ahead of his sentencing next week, according to The Associated Press . McMichael will be sentenced on a federal hate crime conviction as his actions led to the fatal shooting of Arbery by his own son.
McMichael’s defense attorney agreed that he deserved a “substantial period” of time in prison. However, they believe he should be spared a life sentence - which he’s already serving without parole on a murder conviction . Allow me to remind you of why this man doesn’t deserve leniency.
McMichael and his son, Travis, armed themselves to chase down Ahmaud while he was minding his business jogging through the neighborhood. Instead of approaching him to ask him any questions, they assumed he was a burglar and targeted him because he was Black. As a result, he was killed.
More on McMichael’s sentencing from AP News :
McMichael also wants the judge to transfer him to a federal prison so that he avoids serving time for Arbery’s murder in Georgia’s state prison system, which can’t ensure his safety from attacks by other inmates, the lawyer said.
Greg McMichael’s defense attorney, A.J. Balbo, in his legal filing Monday didn’t downplay the seriousness of the federal hate crimes case.
“It involved the gruesome and altogether avoidable death of a young man whose last moments are preserved forever in haunting video,” Balbo wrote. “It showcased repugnant text messages and postings that displayed a racist bent that, even after decades of societal progress, still clings to some.”
Still, Balbo asked the judge to show some leniency in sentencing Greg McMichael to 20 years in prison, arguing that his punishment shouldn’t exceed what former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin received in a different federal court for the killing of George Floyd. Chauvin got a 21-year sentence last month after pleading guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Greg McMichael didn’t seem to care about Arbery’s safety when he chased him down with his shotgun. Why should he be protected from his fate in the Georgia state prison system? Even though he didn’t fire the shot, his racism led to the murder of an innocent human being. If the parents of Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron are considered guilty , McMichael is five times that for aiding in the killing.
Arbery’s family insist the McMichaels and the neighbor who recorded the incident, William Bryan, should serve their sentences in a state prison. All three of them were convicted of hate crimes by a jury.
“Granting these men their preferred choice of confinement would defeat me. It gives them one last chance to spit in my face,” said Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, at a hearing in January.
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I cannot believe that this hateful racist scumbag is asking for leniency.
I hope his new cellmate is a 300 lb. black guy that he helped railroad into prison years ago.
I hope his wife and his son's wife are getting bagged on by all their white supremacist pals...
This scumbag should receive all the leniency he showed towards Ahmaud's life.
He should get as much leniency as he gave Arbery, which is NONE.