A United States jury found this Wednesday guilty of murdering the three men accused of hunting down and killing African-American Ahmaud Arbery in February last year while he was playing sports in the town of Brunswick, Georgia.
Now Georgia Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley will have to decide a sentence that could be up to life in prison since in Georgia murder is punishable by this type of penalty.
Walmsley did not set a date and noted that he will contact the defendants’ attorneys in the coming weeks to establish when he will read the sentence.
Meanwhile, the judge ordered that the three men remain in the custody of the sheriff.
Arbery, 25, died on February 23, 2020 while exercising in Satilla Shores, an area of the coastal town of Brunswick, Georgia.
When they saw Arbery, two of the defendants, Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are father and son, got into a truck with their firearms and began to pursue the young man.
A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and videotaped Travis McMichael shooting Arbery up close, killing him.
The three defendants were found guilty by the jury of the crime of murder, that is, that all three committed crimes that led to the death of the victim.
Travis McMichael was also found guilty of treacherous murder, which means that he intended to kill, while his father and neighbor have been exonerated of that charge.
Specifically, each of the defendants faced nine charges for Arbery’s death.
The jury in charge of deciding on the three defendants has been made up of twelve people, all of them white except one black.
Apart from this judicial process, the McMichael and Bryan face another federal trial for having committed hate crimes and for attempted kidnapping, which is expected to begin next February.
Outside the courthouse in Brunswich, Georgia, a crowd of protesters gathered, celebrating the verdict and cheering Arbery’s family and their lawyers as they left the courthouse.
With information from EFE
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Source-www.infobae.com