Federal judge rejects hate crime plea deal for Ahmaud Arbery's killers

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Monday rejected plea deals reached between prosecutors and Gregory and Travis McMichael, the Georgia father and son convicted of murdering Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in 2020.

U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood turned down prospective deals for the McMichaels, reached over the objections of Arbery's family, under which a federal hate crimes trial would have been avoided, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WXIA-TV reported.

Following Wood's ruling in a Brunswick, Ga., courtroom, she gave the men two days to decide whether to move ahead with their previously entered guilty pleas or to take the case to trial.

Under the proposed deal rejected by Wood, the McMichaels were to serve 30-year sentences in federal penitentiary before serving the remainder of their life sentences in a Georgia state facility.

Arbery's family, however, strenuously objected to those terms, saying they were reached without any consultation with them.

Travis McMichael, 35, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 66, each received life in prison without possibility of parole plus 20 years in Georgia state court on Jan. 7. A third defendant, William "Roddie" Bryan, received a slightly lesser sentence, life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The federal hate crime charges include interference with rights and attempted kidnapping. Both McMichaels were also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Wood said she turned down the deal because it would have locked her into a specific sentence. Under the terms of the deal, the federal sentence was to run concurrently with the state sentence and the McMichaels would be allowed to serve the first 30 years in "a preferred Federal prison."

"I am not comfortable with accepting the terms of the plea agreement," Wood said.

Earlier in the hearing, members of Arbery's family passionately spoke against the proposed plea deal, especially its provision allowing the McMichaels to serve time in a federal rather than state prison.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, asked the judge "on behalf of his family, on the behalf of his memory, and on behalf of fairness that you do not accept this plea."

"For once, listen to me," she pleaded. "It is not right. It is not just. It is wrong. Please listen to me," she said, adding, "The state of Georgia already gave these men exactly what they deserve."