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.

On 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 Feb. 7 hate crimes 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."

Earlier, she stated that "the DOJ (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.”

"I have made it clear at every possible moment that I do not agree to offer these men a plea deal of any kind. I have been completely betrayed by the DOJ's lawyers," she added.

Meanwhile, the McMichaels were given until Friday to decide if they wanted to proceed with pleading guilty.

Greg McMichael's lawyer said he will talk to his client about whether he wants to keep his guilty plea or withdraw it.

It is noteworthy that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently reported that the number of hate crimes in the United States has increased to its highest level in 12 years in 2020, driven by an increase in assaults on Black and Asian people.