Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan Jr. Convicted of Murdering Ahmaud Arbery
After nine hours of deliberations, the verdict is in. A jury found Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan Jr. guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. All three defendants faced nine charges involving murder, assault, and imprisonment, per AP News. The judge began by reading the verdict of all counts against Travis, followed by Gregory and then William.
As previously reported, Ahmaud lost his life while jogging through a Georgia neighborhood called Satilla Shores. Travis, along with his father Gregory and their neighbor William chased Ahmaud down the street, imprisoned him with their trucks, and then killed him with a shotgun. The criminal act took place on February 23, 2020.
Travis McMichael
The younger McMichael is the only defendant found guilty on all nine charges. He is also the person who shot and killed Ahmaud. A jury, which made headlines for having one Black juror, decided on Wednesday afternoon local time. They convicted Travis of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, and two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
Travis is the only convicted murderer who is going down for felony and malicious murder. Georgia’s law shows no difference in punishment for either murder charge. Both felony and malice murder come with minimum life in prison. However, the judge can decide to grant or deny the possibility of parole. Nonetheless, the conviction means they’ll have to serve 30 years minimum before becoming eligible for parole.
Gregory McMichael
The jury also convicted Gregory of murdering Ahmaud. His group of peers found him guilty of four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and a criminal attempt to commit a felony. He faces life in prison for the felony murder counts.
William Bryan Jr.
Like his co-defendants, the jury subjected William to the same fate. They also convicted William of murdering Ahmaud. He’s convicted of three counts of felony murder, but the jury acquitted him of malice murder. In total, he collected six convictions out of nine. He also faces life in prison for the felony murder conviction.
Judge Timothy Walmsley did not immediately set a sentencing date for the convicted murderers. However, reports claim it will be happening in the coming weeks.
