Washington, Jan 8 The three white men who chased and killed African-American Ahmaud Arbery in the US state of Georgia two years ago while the latter was jogging, were sentenced to life in prison, with two of the three murderers being denied any chance for parole.
On Friday, Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, who killed the 25-year-old Arbery with a shotgun on February 23, 2020, were sentenced to life in prison without parole, reports Xinhua news agency.
Their neighbour, William Bryan, who later joined in the deadly pursuit and recorded it with a smartphone, was granted a parole, but that will happen only after he has served in prison for 30 years.
Greg McMichael, a retired police detective, suspected that Arbery, who was unarmed and was merely jogging near his home on the outskirts of Brunswick, Georgia, was the offender in break-in cases in the neighbourhood.
He grabbed guns and chased the youngster in a pick-up truck together with his son, who, after Arbery was cornered, clashed with him and shot three times at close range to kill him.
Greg and Travis McMichael 66 and 35, respectively - and Bryan, 52, were convicted of murder and other charges in November 2021.
They also face a separate federal trial on hate crime charges scheduled for February 7.
Arbery's murder has become part of a nationwide reckoning over racial injustice, and Judge Timothy Walmsley said on Friday before announcing the sentence that "sentencing does not generally provide closure".
"In this case, I think many people are seeking closure. The mother, the father, the community, and maybe even parts of the nation, but closure is hard to define and is a granular concept.
"It's seen differently by all depending on their perspective and the prism of your lives," Walmsley said.
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