Family of Black jogger murdered in Georgia objects to plea deal

WASHINGTON — The family of a Black jogger shot dead in Georgia has objected to a plea deal reached by US federal prosecutors with two of the white men convicted of his murder, calling it a “betrayal”.

Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their neighbour, William Bryan, were convicted in November of multiple counts of murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment for the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

The McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery in their pickup trucks on February 23, 2020 as he ran through their neighbourhood near the town of Brunswick, Georgia.

Travis McMichael confronted Arbery as he passed by their truck and shot and killed him.

Travis McMichael, 35, and Gregory McMichael, 66, were sentenced to life without parole in January.

Bryan, 52, who had a less-direct role in the murder and cooperated with investigators, was given life with the possibility of parole.

The McMichaels and Bryan were also facing federal charges of civil rights violations for the pursuit and murder of Arbery.

According to court filings published on Sunday, federal prosecutors reached plea agreements with the McMichaels that would allow them to serve their sentences in a federal penitentiary rather than a state prison.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, said he would appear at a court hearing on Monday at which a judge would have to sign off on the plea agreement.

“This back room deal represents a betrayal to the Arbery family who is devastated,” Merritt said on Twitter.

In a statement, Cooper Jones said she has “made it clear at every possible moment that I do not agree to offer these men a plea deal of any kind.”

“The [Department of Justice] has gone behind my back to offer the men who murdered my son a deal to make their time in prison easier for them to serve,” she said.

The racially-charged case added fuel to nationwide anger and protests over police killings of African Americans, sparked initially by the death in May 2020 of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.