Ahmaud Arbery's Parents Outraged by Plea Deal, Accuse DOJ of Betraying Them

[mucifer]

Source: Newsweek

he parents of Ahmaud Arbery have accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of breaking their trust by making an "unauthorized back-room plea deal" with two of the men who murdered their son.

A jury in November found three white men—Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan—guilty of Arbery's murder. They were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.

All three men were due to stand trial in February on hate crime charges, accused of violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black.

"This proposed plea is a huge accommodation to the men who hunted down and murdered Ahmaud Arbery," the statement said. "The family is devastated at the latest development. Their wishes are being completely ignored and they do not consent to these accommodations."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/ahmaud-arbery-outraged-plea-deal-accuse-doj-betraying-them-1674408

[JohnSJ]

1. They are getting life imprisonment without parole, and from what I can see the deal

was in a federal prison instead of a state prison

I am not sure a federal prison is that much better than a state prison

[padah513]

3. What deal did these three men give her son?

That's what she's asking.

[HariSeldon]

4. I'd suggest looking at the racial breakdown of demographics

What does the prison population of Georgia look like, compared to that of federal prison?

[LiberalLovinLug]

50. that's what I first thought of too

Whether real or not, and it may be, there may be a whole lot more percent of black brothers in that State prison. Who may not take too kindly to them. Cowards without their guns.

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. There is a reason federal prisons are called 'Club Fed'. (n/t)

[JohnSJ]

6. Depends whether it is minimum, medium, or maximum security, and for murder I wouldn't

think it would be minimum or medium

[mucifer]

7. Yup, their lives will all be hell. they will probably all join a nazi gang there. But, maximum

security will still be hell.

[JohnSJ]

10. I don't know, but two of them will certainly die in prison, and one will be very old if he

ever gets out

[Calista241]

14. The father is going to be in some kind of segregation, since he is a former police investigator.

he was due for cushy prison time from the start because of it.

[JohnSJ]

15. Then did they want to pursue capital punishment?

[Calista241]

20. They were sentenced to life in prison with no parole.

Doesn't matter if anyone wants capital punishment. They cannot be resentenced at this point for their conviction on state charges. The federal charges aren't set in stone yet, so we'll see, but i don't think the federal charges can be a capital offense.

[JohnSJ]

21. I understand, thanks

[oldsoftie]

23. Club Fed is for the high dollar white collar crooks & politicians.

These guys don't qualify. And a Fed prison isn't much better. Years ago I used to service equipment at prisons throughout the State & I didn't see much difference between the Fed pen in All and any of the State ones across GA. Except some of the State prisons are privately run

[Sapient Donkey]

24. My younger brother is in federal prison

It’s not club fed. If these guys are going to federal prison, they will not be heading to one of the federal camps given their sentence. And from what I’ve heard, even those camps are not the mythical club fed.

[brooklynite]

25. ADX Florence is NOTHING close to "Club Fed"

[Calista241]

35. They wouldn't be sent there. They're both first time offenders

and unless they commit more serious crimes while in prison, or present some sort of escape threat, it's not even an option.

[brooklynite]

43. Neither is a minimum security prison for someone facing life without parole.

[atreides1]

11. Well

Federal prisons in Georgia have 3 categories of security:

Minimum, low, and medium

State prisons have 3 categories of security:

Minimum, medium, and close

[3Hotdogs]

12. And who says the sentences will be served in Georgia's federal prisons?

And federal prisons are not all that safe. Does anyone know who killed Whitey Bolger?

[atreides1]

17. This from the article

The statement, reported by WTLV, said the proposed deal would allow the McMichaels to enter federal custody and serve the first 30 years of their sentence in "a preferred federal prison."

What does the word "preferred" mean to you?


Bulger didn't get a preferred option...he was in two high security facilities after his capture...one in Florida and one in West Virginia!

Also, he had been an informant for the FBI which could be why he was murdered...and the primary suspect in his murder was Fotios Geas, a hitman for the Genovese crime family!

[3Hotdogs]

18. Interesting -- why would an Italian mafia guy, kill an Irish mafia guy?

[Sapient Donkey]

49. I think that preferred thing might be common language

My younger brother had similar language that said that the BOP was to put him close to family, and if they couldn't do it they would have to explain why. Now, in practice it didn't work out that way and they actually had him in California for a bit and then they moved him to Oklahoma and then finally to Mississippi. His lawyer said they were likely going to send him to Texas where most of his family is, but that didn't really work out. I suspect this in some part has to do with COVID. But I dunno, it's all kind of opaque and difficult to get straight answers. The only thing I can say for sure is that there was language in one of the documents that I read pertaining to his stuff about a facility close to family being preferred. Oh, I found the actual document.

The Court makes the following recommendations to the Bureau of Prisons:
To designate defendant to Three Rivers FCI or to a federal facility close to Three Rivers FCI in order that the
defendant may be near family members during the period of confinement.

If, for any reason, the Bureau of Prisons does not comply with any recommendation of this Court made in this Judgment and Sentence, the Bureau of Prisons shall immediately notify the Court and any reason therefore.

So, if it's something like that then I don't think they are special for getting it.

[Marthe48]

2. This really sucks

Looks like the government is soft on white crime.

[Lonestarblue]

9. The government has always been soft on white crime, especially white-collar crime.

Most wealthy people who commit fraud are never caught or prosecuted, even when the government knows they are committing crimes. Trump paid millions of dollars in fines for laundering money through his casinos, and I’m sure the feds knew he was doing so. To my knowledge he was never investigated and certainly was not prosecuted. Hiring illegal workers from Poland for construction work in New York was illegal. He was never investigated or prosecuted.

Had Trump not run for president, which caused lots of journalists to start investigate his business dealings, he would not now be facing potential indictments in New York. He bought off investigators there with campaign donations, and it worked until he became president. Taking a look at the racial demographics in our prisons makes it clear that white people are not prosecuted at the same rates as minorities. I’d like to see this change, but racism is so much a part of our criminal justice system that I doubt it will.

[happy feet]

33. This!

DOJ honoring the murderer's request to serve in a 'preferred' federal prison is not 'equal justice under the law' and is a slap in the face to the parents of Ahmed Arbery who was hunted and murdered. Why should these murderes get 'preferred' accommodations? Of course, we know the answer.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

27. The linked article states the sealed court documents will be presented before a judge.

Also this…

“But prosecutors filed notice in the U.S. District Court of Brunswick, Georgia, on Sunday asking a judge to approve plea agreements for the McMichaels. Specific details about the deal were not provided in the court filings and they do not name Bryan.

In a statement issued through their attorneys, Arbery's parents Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery said they were "vehemently against" the plea deal and had expressed their opposition on calls with DOJ officials on Sunday.”

So no one knows what the plea deal is, but it is approved by seasoned prosecutors, and has to be approved by…a judge.

[Marthe48]

40. Your post helps understand the legal aspect

but not the emotional aspects. Also, I wish the family had been more in the loop than it sounds like they were. And if doing a pleas deal was maybe going to ease the family's pain down the road, make sure grief counselors are on hand to talk to the survivors, so they have a chance to understand the motives behind the plea deal.

[RobinA]

42. Oh, Nonsense

two of these three guys have life without parole. What possible purpose would there be to trying them again? It's not a good use of resources.

[oldsoftie]

45. Why does it suck? They plead GUILTY to get out of a trial. Guilty is what you WANT

GUILTY is the worst you'd get. And there is the possibility, slim as it may be, that they could have been acquitted. You'd STILL have life at the State level anyway!

Saves a ton of tax money that would be wasted paying multiple lawyers for the three of them to spend 1000s of hours on nonsense "defense".

[JT45242]

8. Usually this kind of plea requires an agreement not to appeal

They are going to serve life in prison. No parole ever.

Agree with an earlier poster, they will not be going to the 'club fed' which is always nonviolent usually white collar criminals.

What did they expect a sentence to be served after they died in state prison. The DOJ will have spared the expense of a trial and guaranteed that they do not appeal the verdict -- which in the long run is probably better for the family than to sit through a lot of appeals.

[atreides1]

13. Interesting

But there is no evidence that they will not appeal the state charges!

Also...most of the federal prisons in Georgia are levels of "Club Fed", being either low, minimum, or medium security facilities! And several of them are close to where the McMichaels lived!


We could theorize that the hope is to serve time in a federal facility, with the possibility of commutation of their state sentence...best case scenario dad dies while in custody and the son serves his time and is then transferred to state custody to serve out his sentence!

[Calista241]

19. Medium security prison is no joke.

The dad is a former police investigator, so he's due for some kind of segregation. Since they came to the plea agreement together, I would expect they're going to get the same treatment, so they'll probably be housed in the same type of environment.

[oldsoftie]

46. The only winner in a fed trial would be all the lawyers billing 1000s of hours.

If they'd been found not guilty in the first trial, it would be a different story

[Calista241]

16. I'm of mixed mind here.

Last edited Mon Jan 31, 2022, 04:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Prison in one place should not be appreciably different from being in prison in another place. And just being in prison shouldn't have safety consequences for prisoners.

My reading between the lines here is that she wants them to be assaulted daily, and that just shouldn't be a factor. Especially when there are many in prison who don't deserve to be there (not these 3 people obviously, but in general), they shouldn't also have to fear sexual assault or beatings.

[Kali]

44. WTF?

My reading between the lines here is that she wants them to be raped and / or assaulted daily,

[Cozmo]

22. A trial on hate crimes is a needed statement against racial hate, more so than the punishment.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

28. A conviction even more so than trial.

[Cozmo]

30. Agreed!

[oldsoftie]

26. Well, you can't kill 'em twice. They're going away regardless.

Its a big win in Deep South Ga. that a lot of people didn't think would ever happen

[Alexander Of Assyria]

29. Yes, that's my take, it's all a huge win, a double win, for Georgia justice.

[GB_RN]

31. The News Report On NPR Said...

That the family really objected to the fact that these guys would serve all their time in federal prison and not in the state prisons of Georgia, which have worse conditions than the federal prisons. Basically what it boils down to is that the McMichaels cut a deal to do their time where the prison conditions wouldn't be as bad.

[forgotmylogin]

32. I mean, yeah...

A life sentence is a life sentence. If it's a matter of what's perceived as a "safer" prison that's the one bit of negotiating they have. Maybe the idea is they don't want to be around other prisoners who may be locally more familiar with their crimes?

Unless I'm misunderstanding, I don't know if being upset that convicted felons aren't sent for perceived "harsher" incarceration per location for life is a valid complaint. Prisoners should be secure but not tortured in confinement. I don't think there's any sort of legal variation "this crime was worse, so these felons are sent to the salt mines instead of a cell" type of consideration.

[happy feet]

34. Negotiating?

Ahmed Arbery didn't get to negotiate his life. They should be in the same prison as all other murderers. Not given special treatment for any reason.

[GB_RN]

37. These Guys Were Going Also To Get Time For Federal Hate Crimes...

One way or the other, trial or plea deal. These two pled guilty and as part of the plea agreement, negotiated to serve time in the federal prison system for all crimes (federal and state) concurrently because the federal prisons are better than the GA state prisons. Unless I'm mistaken, there are other murderers in federal prisons. It's not like there's one special prison, exclusive for murderers. These guys are in jail and aren't getting out any time soon (and the father is probably never getting out). So, I don't know that it matters whether it's a federal prison or not...as long as it's not a minimum security prison.

Just my two cents.

[GB_RN]

38. You Got The Gist Of It.

I think the family is upset that these two aren't serving time in a harsher prison. In my view of the situation, they either want some form of vengeance, which I guess is understandable, or perhaps they are confusing harsher prison conditions with justice, but neither one will bring Ahmed back. And in the end, neither one will make them feel any better. I've never seen anyone who got vengeance/revenge say that it made them feel better for long after they'd gotten it: They still felt all the anguish and bitterness they had before.

[kacekwl]

36. Because it was on video they

couldn't really find the racists innocent so next best thing they can do for their buddies is make prison a sweet vacation for them.

[mucifer]

51. vacation?

[maxrandb]

39. I don't understand the outrage

As part of the agreement, weren't they REQUIRED TO PLEAD GUILTY to committing a Federal Hate Crime?

It seems like all DOJ did was get a guilty plea, AKA, a conviction for Hate Crime without the need for a trial.

It couldn't be that a right-wing rag like Newsweek is looking for a wedge issue, could it?

[SonofBen]

41. Sorry

but get in line with your DOJ betrayal outrage.
You won't be alone.

[inthewind21]

47. Murders are getting life, mom's upset about a FED deal . Understandable

I'd like to say I feel her pain. Truth is, I don't. Not really. Because I've never been in her shoes. I can imagine it's horrible and have empathy but none of us can truly feel her pain and can only imagine. Unless we have been in her specific situation. Justice was done, all three were sentenced to life. They have lost their lives as well, but are still alive. Don't get me wrong, I have ZERO sympathy for the three yahoos. I tend to want to see them tortured and all sorts of wild things too because of what they did to that man. However, in cases such as this, there is no winning or "make it right" outcome. Doesn't matter what happens. Life with no parole hell even the death penalty, or the three could be lined up and AA mother could be allowed to be their firing squad and it still won't change the fact that her son is dead. Nothing short of resurrection will ever set things right. That's what makes murder cases so sad. Families are changed forever and there's no way possible to ever make it right.

[GB_RN]

48. *UPDATE*

A federal judge has rejected the plea deal for the McMichaels, saying that all parties involved need to be heard from, including the victim's family before an appropriate sentence can be decided upon.

https://www.rawstory.com/ahmaud-arbery-killer-plea-rejected/

[JohnSJ]

52. It appears someone isn't being entirely honest about this

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216306893



https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-assistant-attorney-general-kristen-clarke

[llashram]

53. I only know

IF the race of the perps and victims were reversed, all this would not be in contention. If they weren't dead already from "suicide" while waiting for trial, the trial, verdict and harshest sentence possible would have happened MONTHS AGO.

[JohnSJ]

54. It seems there is a contradiction going on here

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-assistant-attorney-general-kristen-clarke