Sentencing is underway for the three men convicted of federal hate crimes in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shot on Feb. 23, 2020, and his father, Gregory McMichael, were both sentenced Monday to life in prison.
Gregory McMichael, 66, said to the Arbery family in court, "I’m sure my words mean very little to you but I want to assure you I never wanted any of this to happen."
Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, the parents of Ahmaud Arbery, are flanked by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Attorney Lee Merritt while addressing the media following the sentencing of Travis McMichael in federal court in Brunswick, Ga. on Aug. 8, 2022.
Lewis M. Levine/AP
"There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day," he said.
Travis McMichael, 36, did not make a statement.
Their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, will be sentenced later in the day and could also face life.
From left, Travis McMichael, William "Roddie" Bryan, and Gregory McMichael during their trial at at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga. The jury is deliberating in the federal hate crimes trial of three white men in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.
Pool via AP, FILE
"I feel every shot every day that I wake up," Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters outside the courthouse Monday.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson joined Arbery's parents at the Brunswick, Georgia, courthouse.
Rev. Jesse Jackson escorts Wanda Cooper Jones, second from left, Ahmaud Arbery's mother, into the federal courthouse, Aug. 8, 2022, in Brunswick, Ga., for the sentencing hearings of the 3 white men convicted of federal hate crimes in the killing of Arbery.
Lewis M. Levine/AP
Marcus Arbery, second from left, father of Ahmaud Arbery, arrives at the federal courthouse, Aug. 8, 2022, in Brunswick, Ga., for the sentencing hearings of the 3 white men convicted of federal hate crimes in the killing of Arbery.
Lewis M. Levine/AP
The three white men were convicted in February by a federal jury who decided that they followed and killed Arbery because he was Black.
After deliberating for less than four hours, the jury convicted all three men of being motivated by racial hate in interference of Arbery's civil rights and attempted kidnapping. Travis McMichael and his father were also convicted of carrying and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence. Travis McMichael was also found guilty of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
The McMichaels chased Arbery in their pickup truck after they saw him jogging in their neighborhood, falsely believing he had been responsible for several break-ins in coastal Georgia's Satilla Shores neighborhood. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck, blocking Arbery from escaping, and recorded cellphone footage of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun after a brief struggle.
A painted mural of Ahmaud Arbery is displayed in Brunswick, Ga., May 17, 2020.
Sarah Blake/AP, FILE
During the trial, prosecutors released text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan repeatedly used racist slurs. Witnesses also testified to hearing both McMichaels make racist comments.
All three men are already serving life in prison for Arbery's killing after being found guilty of murder in a Georgia state court last fall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
