A Georgia judge sentenced three white men to life in prison on Friday for the murder of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery. This is reported by Reuters news agency. They chased Arbery in pickup trucks in early 2020 and shot him at close range. A jury had already found them guilty last November.
The 35-year-old gunman Travis McMichael, his 66-year-old father and a 52-year-old neighbor said they chased Arbery because they believed he was a burglar. They tried to stop him, after which a struggle ensued and McMichael shot the jogger.
Also read: Georgia jury finds suspects guilty of murder of jogger Ahmaud Arbery
The judge said Friday that it is “a dangerous undertaking” to take the law into one’s own hands. He also pointed to the lack of regret expressed by the perpetrators. During the hearing, the judge held a minute’s silence for the “unscrupulous” murder and the agony he said the victim endured.
Arbery’s mother said she was satisfied with the life sentences despite her grief. “This verdict will not bring you back, but it will help close this extremely difficult chapter in my life.”
vigilant
The case raised many questions in the United States about racism, gun ownership and vigilantism. US President Joe Biden called Arbery’s assassination “a painful reminder” that much remains to be done in the fight against racial inequality in the US. Arbery’s name was also frequently mentioned during the Black Lives Matter protests that took place later in 2020, after black man George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer.
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