Arbery's shooter withdraws guilty plea
3 Min Read
Travis McMichael has withdrawn his plea after a judge rejected it on Tuesday.
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Travis McMichael speaks from the witness stand during his trial at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick on November 17, 2021.
Travis McMichael, who was convicted of murder for shooting Ahmaud Arbery, withdrew his guilty plea on Friday, opting to stand trial for the second time.
McMichael reversed his plan to plead guilty just days after a US District Court judge rejected terms of a plea deal between defense attorneys and prosecutors, which Arbery's parents strongly objected to.
As Lisa Godbey Wood, a US District judge, asked McMichael for his decision, he said, "I withdraw the plea," entailing that the three White men who were convicted for the murder will return to court next week for trial. Greg McMichael, Travis' father, also withdrew his plea on Thursday. The trial will begin Monday.
The hearing which happened today, Friday, was short and brief to the extent that Ahmaud's father was coming up in the elevator as the reporters were leaving the room.
“All we want is 100% justice for the Arbery family,” Marcus Arbery Sr. said. “That’s all we’re looking for.”
Tuesday's rejection
Federal prosecutors and two of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and murdered while out jogging in Georgia, reached a plea agreement on Monday, but the judge rejected it.
In February 2020, Arbery was killed by a white man and his son in Georgia. The murderers pursued Arbery, who was jogging at the time, and was brutally shot him at close range using a shotgun. The whole case was unprovoked, and the only reason behind the barbaric homicide, which could be dubbed as lynching, was the father and son allegedly thinking Arbery was a burglar - however, no criminal evidence whatsoever verifies that.
Greg and Travis McMichael, father and son respectively, were later charged with murder alongside a neighbor, William Bryan, who joined the chase and recorded the crime on his phone.
Travis and Gregory McMichael, who were sentenced to life in prison for Arbery's murder along with William "Roddie" Bryan earlier this month, made an agreement with prosecutors ahead of their February 7 hate crime trial.
Following strong opposition from Arbery's family, US District Judge Lisa Wood rejected the plea offers.
Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said in court on Monday, "It is not fair to take away the victory I prayed and I fought for. It is not right."
