Gregory and Travis McMichael, the father and son convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, are entering a plea deal on federal hate crime charges in order to serve their time in a safer, less crowded prison, a lawyer for Arbery’s mother said Monday.
Wanda Cooper-Jones intends to oppose the deal at a Monday hearing, attorney S. Lee Merritt said. Both Cooper-Jones and Arbery’s father were in court Monday morning. She was seen sobbing at the beginning of the hearing.
Merritt spoke out after documents were filed Sunday in federal court, ahead of the men’s scheduled February 7 trial, showing the defendants had reached the deal with prosecutors. Details of the agreement were not specified, but Merritt said the family “is devastated.” Continue Reading