US: Lifespan to three whites who killed African-American jogging in their neighborhood

Three whites were sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday (07/01) Americans who chased and killed one African American who jogged in February 2020 at Georgia, because, as they claimed, they considered him a suspect for burglary.

THE Travis McMichael, 35 years old, the man who pulled the trigger, and his father, Gregory, 66 years old, were sentenced to life without the possibility of suspending the sentence. Their neighbor, William Brian, 52, who participated in the persecution and videotaped the murder, was sentenced to life with the possibility of suspending his sentence after serving 30 years in prison.

The judge Timothy Wolsley, announcing his decision, said that the fact that he imposed on McMichael the heavier punishment allowed by law is due in part to their “inhuman” statements and actions recorded in the video.

“It was a creepy, really scary scene,” he said, referring to the video showing the young man. McMichael to raise his weapon and aim at the 25-year-old Mount Arber which was only 10 meters away. THE Arber “He was chased and shot and killed because some people in this room took the law into their own hands,” he added.

Earlier, his relatives Arber, speaking in court, said that racist stereotypes were the ones that led to the murder of the 25-year-old. Defense attorneys asked for the court’s leniency, arguing that none of the three defendants sought to kill him. Mount Arber.

The lawyers of the three defendants said they would appeal the sentence. “His goal was not to commit a crime that day or kill anyone. “He wanted to spend an afternoon with his family,” he said Bob Rubin, his lawyer Travis McMichael.

None of the three convicts exercised their right to go to court. All of them will be tried again in February, by a federal court this time, accused of hate crime.

Prosecutors said the three men “assumed the worst” when they saw a black man running in their neighborhood. THE Arber jogged in the neighborhood Satila Sources, on the afternoon of 23 February, when the McMichael they grabbed their weapons, got into their truck and chased him. THE Travis McMichael, the only one of the three who testified at the trial, said that he shot while in self-defense.

“They chose to target my son because they did not want him in their community. “Because they could not scare him or intimidate him, they killed him,” said his mother. Arber, the Wanda Cooper-Jones, testifying in court earlier.

THE Brian followed them McMichael with his own truck and videotaped him with his mobile phone Travis to shoot the young man from a short distance. THE Arber he had absolutely nothing on him at the time other than the sportswear and shoes he was wearing.

The video caused outrage when it was released months later, and it became known that none of the three involved had been arrested after a local prosecutor found the murder justified.

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