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Killers of Ahmaud Arbery Sentenced. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired January 07, 2022 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JUDGE TIMOTHY WALMSLEY, EASTERN CIRCUIT SUPERIOR COURT: I think, when you look at the statements, and you see the videos, is very true.
And that is, she said: "When they could not scare or intimidate him, they killed him."
There's been discussion about remorse. And I agree with counsel that it is -- it is dangerous for defendants who have multiple prosecutions against them to make statements of remorse. But remorse isn't something that is simply a statement of regret.
Remorse, I think, can be determined by looking at somebodies reaction to difficult circumstances and the reality of the situation that they're in. Again, it doesn't require an apology. And, quite honestly, sometimes, apologies are made simply to get past problems. Remorse is something that's felt and demonstrated.
In this case, getting back to the video again, after Ahmaud Arbery fell, the McMichaels turned their backs. It's, again, a disturbing image. And they walked away. This was a killing. It was callous. And it occurred, as far as the court is concerned, based upon the evidence, because confrontation was being sought.
I think the statement was made during closing arguments, it's interesting to note that the most violent crime in Satilla Shores was the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
So, sentencing does not generally provide closure. I think Ms. Wanda Cooper-Jones also talked about closure, but I don't find that it really does, and I think that's an unfortunate thing.
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.
Instead of closure, maybe it would be best to see today's proceeding as an exercise in accountability. We are all accountable for our own actions. Sometimes, in today's day and age, that statement is lost upon many.
And, today, the defendants are being held accountable for their actions here in Superior Court. Today demonstrates that everybody is accountable to the rule of law. Taking the law into your own hands is a dangerous endeavor.
I'm not sure how this comes across, but I will say it anyway. I think, ultimately, with regard to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it all -- it holds us all accountable.
I have read somewhere, and I don't remember where it was, that, at a minimum, Ahmaud Arbery's death should force us -- his death should force us to consider expanding our definition of what a neighbor may be and how we treat them.
I argue that maybe a neighbor is more than the people who just own property around your house. I believe that -- I also believe that, in assuming the worst in others, we show our worst character. Assuming the best in others is always the best course of action. And maybe those are the grand lessons from this case. I will let others spend as much time as they want writing about it and talking about it, but those are my general thoughts with regard to this case and sentencing.
That said, with regard to the sentence in this case, as to Travis McMichael, Mr. McMichael, the court sentences you as follows.
Count one, malice murder, life without the possibility of parole. Count two, felony murder, as vacated by operation of law, count three felony murder, vacated by operation of law, count four, felony murder vacated by operation of law, and count five, felony murder, vacated by operation of law.
Count six, aggravated assault, merges into count 1. Count seven, aggravated assault, the court sentences the defendant to 20 years consecutive to count one. Count eight, false imprisonment, merges into count one. Count nine, attempted false imprisonment, five years concurrent to count seven.
That is life, plus 20.
Greg McMichael, the court sentences you as follows. Count one, malice murder, defendant was found not guilty. Count two, felony murder, life without the possibility of parole. Count three, felony murder, vacated. When I want to say, it's vacated by operation of law in all cases. I'm just not going to repeat it.
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Count four, vacated. Count five, vacated. Count six merges into count two. Count seven, aggravated assault, 20 years, consecutive to count two. Count eight, 10 years, concurrent to count seven. Count nine, five years, concurrent to count seven. That is life, plus 20 years.
Roddie Bryan, I do want to separate a little bit because the state is making a different recommendation. And despite the back-and-forth that Mr. Gough and I have had during this case, I do want to bring up a couple of things that he raised that I think are appropriate to raise with regard to the sentence.
As far as the remorse, I think Roddie Bryan stands in very different shoes. It is obvious from the beginning that he questioned the tragedy that had occurred at the scene and was on -- I believe a body camera. I can't remember whose bodycam, but the bodycam, in fact, questioning whether or not had occurred had occurred, and then took steps early on in this process, I think, that demonstrated that he had grave concerns that what had occurred should not have occurred.
And I think that does make Mr. Bryan's situation a little bit different. However, Mr. Bryan has been convicted of felony murder. And I do not believe it can be disputed, based on the facts of this case, that the verdict was an appropriate verdict, based upon the evidence presented at least. And when I say appropriate, what I mean is legal, because I believe there has been some discussion about some differences between Mr. Bryan and the McMichaels.
There may be some differences, but it does not change the fact that, was it not for the fact that Mr. Bryan used his vehicle in a way to impede Mr. Arbery's course of travel, this may not have ever occurred, and that is sufficient for felony murder.
He did cooperate with law enforcement. I will point out Mr. Gough, 17101-B, there's actually a chase out of Chatham County that say it would not apply under the circumstances of this case.
So, the court recognizing that Mr. Bryan's position is different -- again, Mr. Bryan was found not guilty on count one and count two -- the court sentences Mr. Bryan to life with the possibility of parole on count three. Count four is vacated. Count five is vacated. Count six, the defendant was found not guilty. Count seven merges into count three. The defendant is sentenced to 10 years consecutive to count three, on count eight, and five years concurrent with count eight.
Both of those counts, though, will be suspended sentences, which gives Mr. Bryan a life with the possibility of parole sentence.
Those are the sentences. The court having pronounced sentence, first with regard to Travis McMichael, Mr. McMichael, you're hereby notified that, under the law of Georgia, you are entitled to appeal the guilty verdict of the jury, and if you decide to do so, you must file your appeal within 30 days of this date.
You are also informed that you have the right to retain a lawyer of your own choice to represent you on your post-trial motions and appeals to the appropriate appellate court of Georgia. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you. You're entitled to and will be given a transcript of all pretrial, trial, and post- trial matters without cost to you, if you cannot afford a transcript.
You may file a motion for a new trial or you may appeal your case directly to the appropriate appellate court of Georgia for review. You're also advised that the statute of limitations for habeas corpus in this state is four years in the case of felonies and one year in the case of misdemeanors. The statute begins to run from the date the conviction becomes final.
And just to be clear on the record, I'm going to go through the statement with regard to each defendant. So, as to Gregory McMichael, you are hereby notified that, under the law of Georgia, you are entitled to appeal the guilty verdict of the jury, and if you decide to do so, you must file your appeal within 30 days of this date.
You are also informed that you have the right to retain a lawyer of your own choice to represent you on your post-trial motions and appeals to the appropriate appellate court of Georgia. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you. You're entitled to and will be given a transcript of all pretrial, trial, and post- trial matters without cost to you, if you cannot afford a transcript.
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You may file a motion for a new trial or you may appeal your case directly to the appropriate appellate court of Georgia. You're also advised that the statute of limitations for habeas corpus in this state is four years in the case of felonies and one year in the case of misdemeanors. The statute begins to run from the date the conviction becomes final.
And, then, finally, Mr. Bryan, you are hereby notified that, under the law of Georgia, you are entitled to appeal the guilty verdict of the jury, and if you decide to do so, you must file your appeal within 30 days of this date.
You are also informed that you have the right to retain a lawyer of your own choice to represent you on your post-trial motions and appeals to the appropriate appellate court of Georgia. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you. You're entitled to and will be given a transcript of all pretrial, trial, and post- trial matters without cost to you, if you cannot afford a transcript.
You may file a motion for a new trial or you may appeal your case directly to the appropriate appellate court of Georgia for review. You're also advised that the statute of limitations for habeas corpus in this state is four years in the case of felonies and one year in the case of misdemeanors. The statute begins to run from the date the conviction becomes final.
I don't have a blue or black pen. Is there a blue or black pen down there?
Thank you.
The court has executed the statement of appeal for Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, and William R. Bryan.
If I could please have counsel and the defendants execute the statements of appeal to confirm they have been given. Have the notices been given?
Anything further from the state?
LINDA DUNIKOSKI, COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Yes, Your Honor. The state would ask for a condition imposed along with the sentence, and that is this, that the defendants are not allowed to make any money off of their actions, such as a book deal, a movie deal, social media deal or anything along -- any way, shape or form, make any money off of this experience, this conviction, and this trial, and that should any money be made, that it go into a fund for the Arbery family.
And I have -- I have this condition imposed before, and given the nature of this case, we just seek to make sure that, based on their actions, having been found guilty of murder, that they do not then reap some sort of profit or benefit off of their actions via such remuneration to -- from -- to or from anyone in the form of, like I said, book deals, movie deals, consulting fees, or telling their story to someone in exchange for money.
WALMSLEY: There is a statute on this, but maybe I'm wrong.
KEVIN GOUGH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's not a (OFF-MIKE) statute in other states. I'm not aware of Georgia's. If there is...
(CROSSTALK)
GOUGH: ... cite it.
WALMSLEY: Yes. Well, yes, let's do this.
Submit something more formal to the court, I will go ahead and take a look at it.
DUNIKOSKI: Thank you, Your Honor.
GOUGH: And, as well, when the court does that, my only concern is how that would impact Mr. Bryan's ability to raise money for his defense, for his appeal.
I wouldn't want to be in a situation where he couldn't do that, inadvertently, because of a sentencing condition.
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WALMSLEY: Yes. No, I understand the request, but I don't want to just offhandedly grant the request without understanding exactly what the terms are that the court is seeking.
So, I would like something in writing from the state explaining what exactly the terms are that the state would be seeking with regard to the condition, and then I guess address that once that's come in more formally with defense.
DUNIKOSKI: Thank you, Your Honor.
WALMSLEY: Anything from Travis McMichael.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Your Honor.
WALMSLEY: From Greg McMichael?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Your Honor.
WALMSLEY: From Mr. Bryan.
GOUGH: No, Your Honor.
WALMSLEY: All right, we are adjourned. Thank you.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: All right, there you have it.
Two years nearly after Ahmaud Arbery was chased down, shot and killed in Northern Georgia, the three men charged with his death have been convicted.
Travis McMichael, who fired the shots that killed Ahmaud Arbery, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for malice murder. His father, Gregory McMichael, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for felony murder, and Roddie Bryan, William "Roddie' Bryan, sentenced to a life with the possibility of parole for his conviction on felony murder.
We heard a lot from the judge there, Judge Timothy Walmsley.
Let's bring in CNN's Dianne Gallagher, who is outside the courthouse. Also with me, criminal defense attorney Page Pate.
Page, first, your reaction to the sentences.
PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Victor, I'm not surprised by the ultimate sentence.
I have appeared in front of Judge Walmsley before, and I think he handled this entire trial, including the sentencing proceeding, very well. I think he did the right thing and considering what he did.
Obviously, it was very important to this court, and I think it was important to the jury, the absolute lack of any remorse from any of these defendants, with the possible exception of William Bryan, not just in court, when we heard the testimony of Travis McMichael, but right after the incident happened, they turned their backs on Ahmaud Arbery like he was an animal in the street.
And I think, ultimately, that's what led the judge to impose these sentences, life without the possibility of parole for the two McMichaels.
BLACKWELL: And, Page, the use of silence here in this sentencing where Judge Walmsley said that he was just going to be silent for a minute, which was just a fifth, he said, of the time that Ahmaud Arbery was being chased in that Satilla Shores neighborhood, your thoughts on that use?
PATE: Well, Victor, trial lawyers love to do that, I think, at a time when they want the jury, and, in this case, everybody who's watching the proceeding to understand that, even though the defense lawyers were saying, look, this was just a short moment in time, just a sliver of their lives, the judge wanted to remind everyone that this was the ending of Ahmaud Arbery's life.
And before those fatal shots hit him, he was running through the neighborhood in fear for his life, not just for one minute, but for five minutes. And just think about how he felt. So I think it was very appropriate. It's unusual for a judge to do that. But I think, today, Ahmaud Arbery got his moment of silence, and the judge gave it to him.
BLACKWELL: Dianne, the judge also said that he was going to leave a lot of the opining about the case to those outside the courtroom. He had to separate the sentencing from, as he said, the notoriety and the influences outside the courtroom.
And you will remember, early on the defense attorney for William "Roddie" Bryan complaining about what he called black pastors coming into the courtroom. The judge tried to separate what's outside that courthouse door and inside in his sentencing today.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
And I can tell you that, as those sentences were being handed down, the people who are gathered out here outside the courthouse, Victor, it's much smaller crowd, but it was still quite a few people who have been here all day. They wanted to see Ahmaud Arbery's family in and show their support.
They erupted in cheers. Just a few moments ago, I heard people chanting, "Life sentences, life sentences." And so there's been this feeling of emotion outside of the courtroom, inside the courtroom, that moment of silence that the judge held, showing the impact of just how long Ahmaud Arbery was running.
Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, put her head down. She bowed her head during that moment of silence, when the verdicts were -- or -- excuse me -- the sentences were read.
You could -- his family was crying. His father, his mother, they were crying. And you could see the McMichaels. When the sentence for Travis McMichael was read, Greg McMichael sort of leaned back into his chair there.
Other than that, there wasn't a lot of outbursts. There weren't outbursts. There wasn't a lot of audible emotion. Out here, I can tell you that it was almost silent, as everybody was paying attention to televisions until -- and phones and audio until those sentences were specifically handed down.
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And that's when those cheers erupted out here, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Yes, the judge quoted Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud Arbery's mother, and when she said, when they could not scare or intimidate him, they killed him.
Page, to you.
The way in which the judge spoke Ahmaud Arbery, juxtaposed to what we heard from defense attorneys, the description of his toenails at the end of the trial, in which he called him a young man with dreams, talking about him -- his graduating from high school, and the terror that he must have faced.
Page.
PATE: Yes, Victor, I'm sorry. I didn't know if you're going to play part of that.
It's devastating to hear that. I have never understood -- and I have been practicing criminal defense in the state for 25 years. I never understood why the defense lawyers didn't simply present a case where they said, look, we thought we were justified to pursue him because we thought he may have been committing some crimes, but we were wrong. We were wrong. And we apologize for that.
Not once did we ever hear that type of defense. Instead, they blamed a Ahmaud Arbery for being there. They blamed Ahmaud Arbery for not having socks on, for having dirty toenails. I don't know how in the world they expected that to resonate with any jury, even an almost all white jury.
So from the beginning of the case to the end, I think the defense really missed the boat on trying to present the best case that they could for their clients here.
BLACKWELL: And, Dianne, the judge understood that there would be no statement of remorse on this day of sentencing, because they have this federal trial that's expected to start next month.
To you, Dianne, I wonder. We heard about a potential deal or an offer for a deal, questioning the parents about a deal. What was their response?
GALLAGHER: So, according to the attorney for Ahmaud Arbery's mother this morning, he said that they had been reached out to about a deal that would have included a plea that allowed the defendants to spend 30 years for these federal hate crimes.
And Wanda Cooper-Jones said she didn't want that, because they were confident that the sentence today was going to be the sentence they receive, but also that they wanted that to go to trial, because there wasn't a lot of talk about racial motivation in this particular trial.
This was about the incident itself, and maybe not so much how black and white played into it. And that is something that we will hear about in that federal trial. Now, again, part of the reasoning was that they were confident that this sentence, especially, she said, specifically for the McMichaels, was going to be what, in fact, the judge did hand down today.
But you mentioned remorse and how much the judge brought that up in his statement there, talking about you don't have to actually get on the stand and apologize, understanding the position that would put somebody who was facing additional charges in a separate trial would be in.
But the judge assessed that he didn't see that, any sort of anything from the McMichaels, even on scene or in the video.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
GALLAGHER: And that idea of remorse is the reason why he attributed some of the ability to give that life sentence with the possibility of parole to William "Roddie" Bryan.
BLACKWELL: Page, I see you nodding and shaking your head a lot. Just weigh in here.
PATE: That's another thing I don't understand, Victor.
I mean, you don't want to put your client up at a sentencing proceeding and admit to guilt in some other case that could hurt him at trial. But that would not have happened here. There's no question who killed Ahmaud Arbery. That's never been an issue. The only issue is to why.
So having a defendant, one of these defendants stand up and say, yes, I did this, I was wrong, and I regret to the end of my life what happened, that's not going to hurt him in a federal civil rights trial, in the federal hate crimes trial. If anything, that's going to help him because then perhaps the jury could see, if they hear about it, or know about it, or the government wants to introduce it, that he actually did care somewhat.
And maybe the actions that he took that day were not motivated entirely by race, because, if they were, then they're getting convicted in federal court. So they could very well have made those statements if they chose to do it.
So, I think what this says is, they didn't want to do it. And that's very different.
BLACKWELL: Areva Martin is joining us now.
Areva, your reaction to the sentences, Travis and Gregory McMichael life in prison without the possibility for parole, William "Roddie" Bryan life in prison with the possibility of parole? Your reaction?
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I'm not surprised at all, Victor.
We were talking before the judge actually handed down the sentences, and this is exactly what I thought he would do.
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I think I was surprised to hear him use the words of the McMichaels against them. I think the defense attorneys for both of those defendants thought that they were presenting a case that, even though they were convicted, that their comments somehow show that they did not intend to kill Ahmaud Arbery.
And the judge received that evidence very differently, quoting the -- Travis McMichael saying he wasn't so concerned about Ahmaud Arbery. He was concerned about his own son. He was concerned about his own life.
And then really going on in Greg McMichael in terms of how he tried to engineer the narrative after Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed. I think that was very stunning and definitely telegraphed for us what the judge was likely to do when he handed down those life without parole sentences.
I think everyone knew that William "Roddie" Bryan stood somewhat differently than the McMichaels. So, I'm not surprised that he gets life with parole.
But, again, you're talking about a man who is in his 50s, so life without parole -- I mean, life the possibility of parole for him still means he's going to serve 30 years before he has a chance to go before that parole board, which puts him at 80 years old, which is essentially life, for all practical purposes.
BLACKWELL: Yes, William "Roddie" Bryan 52 years old.
And, as you pointed out there because, this was a serious, violent felony, he will have to serve at least 30 years before he gets the possibility of parole.
One more for you, Areva.
What we heard from the judge there where he said he read it somewhere, he doesn't remember where, but Ahmaud Arbery's death should urge us to expand our definition of what a neighbor may be, and how we treat them.
MARTIN: Yes, again, powerful words from this judge, because this whole case, Victor, was about someone being in a neighborhood that didn't look like the other people that lived in that neighborhood, and the McMichaels and then William Bryan responding to him, using his blackness, using the color of his skin, playing into racist tropes about black men in particular being dangerous, being violent, and then acting on those racist tropes.
And the judge didn't use the word race. He didn't use black or white, but I read into what he was saying, this should hopefully cause people from different races and ethnicities to understand that we are all one human race, and we shouldn't use someone's skin color as a way of deciding whether they should be in or out of a neighborhood, so, powerful words from the judge.
BLACKWELL: Areva Martin, Dianne Gallagher, Page Pate, thank you.
Again, Travis and Gregory McMichael sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, William "Roddie" Bryan sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, but only after serving 30 years because he's convicted of a serious, violent felony, felony murder there.
Thank you all.
All right, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is defending her work and leadership, as CNN is learning there is internal frustration from the CDC and the White House over her COVID messaging missteps.
I will talk with a former White House COVID adviser next.
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