Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, is speaking out against the Department of Justice after all three of her son’s killers were found guilty on all federal hate crimes charges yesterday.
Cooper-Jones is still reeling after the DOJ reached a plea deal with the men in the days leading up to the trial.
“That’s not justice for Ahmaud,” she told reporters. “What we got today we would not have gotten today if it wasn’t for the fight that the family put up.”
“What the DOJ did today, they was made to do today. … They were made to do their job today,” Cooper-Jones continued.
Father and son Travis and Gregory McMichael reached plea deals with the departments “in which they would have been sentenced to 30-year sentences to run concurrent with their state sentences,” The New York Times reports.
Arbery’s parents pleaded with the court for the deal to the thrown out, “in part because they would have allowed the men to spend the bulk of their sentences in the federal prison system, which is generally thought to be a less harsh environment than the Georgia state system.”
Arbery was murdered in February 2020 by the three men. He was 25 at the time of his death. All three men claimed self-defense despite footage showing them chasing him down in a vehicle.
On Tuesday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland — became emotional while responding to a reporter’s question about Cooper-Jones’ statement.
“I cannot imagine the pain that a mother feels to have her son run down, and then gunned down, while taking a jog on a public street,” Garland said at a Justice Department news conference. “My heart goes out to her and to the family. That’s really all I can say about this.”
A tearful Garland added: “No one should fear that if they go out for a run, they will be targeted and killed because of the color of their skin.
“Although we welcome the jury’s verdict, the only acceptable outcome in this matter would have been Mr. Arbery returning safely to his loved ones two years ago. … Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today,” Garland said.
