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0 Ahmaud Arbery Murder | The Jury Selection for the federal hate crimes of three white men charged in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery is scheduled to begin Monday. Ahmaud Arbery, was murdered while jogging. He was shot in the chest with a shot gun.
The Justice Department has charged Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan with hate crimes and attempted kidnapping of the 25-year-old. All three defendants are white, while Arbery was Black.
The federal proceeding is set to begin one month after the three men were sentenced to life in prison in a civil trial in a Georgia state court. A jury there found the trio guilty of felony murder and other charges in connection to Arbery’s murder.
The Justice Department has charged Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan with hate crimes and attempted kidnapping of the 25-year-old. All three defendants are white, while Arbery was Black.
Travis and Greg McMichael were planning to plead guilty to the federal charges, but they withdrew their pleas after U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey rejected a plea agreement presented by prosecutors because of objections from Arbery’s family, the Associated Press reported.
“The Justice Department takes seriously its obligation to confer with the Arbery family and their lawyers both pursuant to the Crime Victim Rights Act and out of respect for the victim,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.
“Before signing the proposed agreement reflecting the defendants’ confessions to federal hate crimes charges, the Civil Rights Division consulted with the victims’ attorneys. The Justice Department entered the plea agreement only after the victims’ attorneys informed me that the family was not opposed to it,” she added.
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