I shall go ahead & post this so I can shorten it a bit in my notes.
from the last hearing:
Wednesday, March 27th:
*Oral Arguments Hearing for all (
Federal Charges-Appeal)-DECISION MADE! (@ 9am ET) - GA –
Ahmaud Marquez Arbery (25) (Feb. 23, 2020, shot while jogging in Satilla Shores neighborhood, Brunswick) -
*Travis James McMichael (34/now 37) &
*Gregory Johns McMichael (64/now 67) indicted (4/28/21),
charged & arraigned (5/11/21) with
Federal crimes of 1 count of interference with rights (hate crime), 1 count of attempted kidnapping, 1 count of using, carrying & brandishing firearms during & in relation to a crime of violence & attempted to unlawfully seize & confine Arbery in an attempt to restrict his free movement & detain him against his will & Travis: plus 1 count of discharging a firearm. Both plead not guilty. No bond. Brunswick 2:20-mj-12 / Attorney Amy Lee Copeland for Travis; Attorney Attilio J. Balbo for Gregory. Judge Lisa G. Wood / Appeal #22-12792-F
*William “Roddie” Roderick Bryan, Jr. (50/now 53) indicted (4/28/21),
charged & arraigned (5/11/21) with
Federal crimes of 1 count of interference with rights (hate crime), 1 count of attempted kidnapping & attempted to unlawfully seize & confine Arbery in an attempt to restrict his free movement & detain him against his will. Plead not guilty. No bond. Brunswick / Attorney James Pete Theodocion for Bryan.
Federal Trial began on 2/7/22 with jury selection. 12 jurors (7 whites, 3 Blacks & one Hispanic) with 4 alternates (3 white members & 1 Pacific Islander).
Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Lyons of the Southern District of Georgia & Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein & Special Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Perras of the Civil Rights Division.
Trial ended with closing arguments on 2/21/22. Jury deliberations started on 2/21/22; approx. 2 ½ hours. 2/22/22 Jury deliberated 1 ½ hours. Total deliberations: ~4 hours.
*Verdict: Gregory McMichael: Count 1 Interference with rights: GUILTY. Count 3 Attempted kidnapping: GUILTY. Count 5 Using firearm during crime of violence: GUILTY. Sentenced (8/8/22) to life in prison plus 7 years. Will serve sentence in State prison.
*Verdict: Travis McMichael: Count 1 Interference with rights: GUILTY. Count 3 Attempted kidnapping: GUILTY. Count 4 Using firearm during crime of violence: GUILTY. Sentenced (8/8/22) to life in prison. Will serve sentence in State prison.
*Verdict: William "Roddie" Bryan: Count 2 Interference with rights: GUILTY. Count 3 Attempted kidnapping: GUILTY. Sentenced (8/8/22) to 35 years in prison.
Indictment & Court info from 7/26/21 to 2/4/22, Jury selection (Day 1-5) 2/7-2/14/22 & Trial (Day 1-7) 2/14-2/22/22 & Jury deliberations (Day 1-2) 2/21-2/22/22 & 3/22/22 & thru 3/3/23 reference post #687 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...n-brunswick-feb-2020-arrests-6.602591/page-35
1/26/24 Update: The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments hearing in the case for 3/27/24 for all 3 men in Atlanta. Attorneys for Greg & Travis McMichael & William “Roddie” Bryan are asking the court to throw out hate crime convictions returned by a jury in coastal Brunswick in 2022.
3/27/24 Update: In legal briefs filed ahead of their appeals court arguments, lawyers for Greg McMichael & Bryan cited prosecutors’ use of more than two dozen social media posts & text messages, as well as witness testimony, that showed all three men using racist slurs or otherwise disparaging Black people. Bryan’s attorney, Pete Theodocion, said Bryan’s past racist statements inflamed the trial jury while failing to prove that Arbery was pursued because of his race. Instead, Arbery was chased because the three men mistakenly suspected he was a fleeing criminal, according to A.J. Balbo, Greg McMichael’s lawyer. In Travis McMichael’s appeal, attorney Amy Lee Copeland didn’t dispute the jury’s finding that he was motivated by racism. The social media evidence included a 2018 Facebook comment Travis McMichael made on a video of a Black man playing a prank on a white person. He used an expletive & a racial slur after he wrote: “I’d kill that .... .” Instead, Copeland based her appeal on legal technicalities. She said that prosecutors failed to prove the streets of the Satilla Shores subdivision where Arbery was killed were public roads, as stated in the indictment used to charge the men. If the U.S. appeals court overturns any of their federal convictions, both McMichaels & Bryan would remain in prison. All three are serving life sentences in Georgia state prisons for murder & have motions for new state trials pending before a judge.
3/27/24 Additional Update: One of the judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Atlanta) sounded skeptical of the argument from defense attorneys. U.S. Circuit Judge Britt Grant said the trial evidence of racist intent behind Arbery's killing "seems pretty overwhelming to me." None of the videos showed Arbery stealing & police found no stolen property or weapons on his body. U.S. Circuit Judge Elizabeth "Lisa" Branch & District Court Judge Victoria Calvert also heard the arguments. The judges did not indicate how long they might take to rule.
11/14/25 Update: Re Appeal: A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the hate crime convictions of three white men who chased Ahmaud Arbery through their Georgia subdivision with pickup trucks before one of them killed the running Black man with a shotgun. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took well over a year to rule after attorneys for the defendants urged the judges in March 2024 to overturn the case, arguing the men's history of racist text messages & social media posts failed to prove they targeted Arbery because of his race. Even if the appeals judges had thrown out their hate-crime convictions, the trio faced no immediate reprieve from prison. That's because they're also serving life terms for murder after being convicted in a Georgia state court.
*State case - All found guilty. Judge's sentencing: Travis: Count 1: LWOP; 2-5 Vacated; Count 6: Merged with count 1; Count 7: 20 Years consecutive; Count 8: Merged with count 1; Count 9: 5 Years concurrent. (Life plus 20)
Greg: Count 2: LWOP; 2-5 Vacated; Count 6: Merged with count 2; Count 7: 20 years consecutive; Count 8: 5 years concurrent; Count 9: 5 Years Concurrent (Life Plus 20)
Bryan: Life with Parole on Count 3; Count 7: 10 years; Count 8: 5 Years concurrent; other counts were vacated. (Life with Parole after 30 years). Appeal motions hearing on 10/24/24.
www.11alive.com
www.11alive.com
abcnews.go.com
