On Monday afternoon (January 31), a federal judge in Georgia denied a plea deal made between prosecutors and one of the men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
The arrangement, filed late Sunday (January 30), would have allowed Travis McMichael and Greg McMichael to serve 30 years in a “preferred” federal prison, Ahmaud’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones said Monday morning.
According to reports, US District Judge Lisa Goodbey Wood said in court she wasn’t willing to be bound to such terms and that in this case the family’s wishes should be considered. While she rejected the deal for Travis, the court is still awaiting her decision on his father’s plea deal.
Ahmaud’s parents slammed the deal, describing it as a betrayal and vowed to oppose it throughout proceedings.
“Ahmaud is a kid you cannot replace,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery said. “He was killed racially and we want 100% justice, not no half justice.”
Each of the men and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan were sentenced to life in prison for the February 23, 2020 killing of 25-year-old Arbery. In the plea deal, Travis McMichael admitted for the first time that he targeted Ahmaud because of his race.
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The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
For more mental health resources, click HERE.
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