Washington Post Opinion: The Arbery case is heinous, but his killers' sentences are extreme

[former9thward]

As a human being, I felt nauseated watching the video of Ahmaud Arbery being shot to death by three White men who had hunted him down as he jogged through a Brunswick, Ga., neighborhood. As a Black man, I feared that Arbery’s killers would escape justice before an almost all-White jury in a state court. And as a political progressive committed to dismantling white supremacy, I was relieved when the jury found Arbery’s killers guilty of murder.

Yet the punishments the three men received — in the state case, life in prison for William “Roddie” Bryan, who joined the pursuit of Arbery and recorded the incident with his cellphone, and life in prison without parole for Gregory McMichael and his son Travis, who fired the fatal shots; and just this week in the federal case, two more life sentences plus additional years for the McMichaels and 35 years for Bryan — left me questioning whether such lengthy sentences are what justice requires. As a former public defender who now works to end mass incarceration and the extreme sentences that contribute to it, I believe the answer is clear: no.

The United States has distinguished itself as the world’s largest incarcerator. With more than 2 million people behind bars, we lead the world in the percentage of the population that is in prison. Meanwhile, the racial composition of our jails and prisons reflects our failure to achieve racial justice in this country. In Ohio, where I live and practice law, Black people make up 13 percent of the total population but approximately 45 percent of the state’s prison population. Similar patterns exist across the country.

Contrary to what many believe, mass incarceration is not the result of locking lots of people up for low-level, nonviolent crimes. According to such sentencing experts as Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis, life and other extreme sentences are the real drivers of the 500 percent increase in the prison population over the past 40 years. In their book “The Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences,” Mauer and Nellis note that one out of seven people in prison in the United States has been sentenced to life. They say that lengthy sentences make no sense from a public safety perspective, given that most people age out of committing violent crimes by their mid-20s. Additionally, continuing to imprison people long past the time when they can be safely released is expensive, especially when they are elderly.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/11/arbery-killers-sentences-extreme/

I agree. Those who celebrate these sentences are also condemning mainly POC to draconian sentences.

[PortTack]

1. I do not agree..at all. I prefer to not even get started!

[USALiberal]

56. Get started??

[TheRealNorth]

2. These people hunted a black man and gunned him down.

And they almost got away with it too.

I have no problem keeping these guys in prison for the rest of their lives. And if the perps were black and the victim was white, I would feel the same way.

[JT45242]

3. They did not get the death penalty -- which they exacted on the innocent Mr Arbery

Whether it is listed as life without parole, life plus 25 yeras, consecutive life sentences ... what is the difference?

This opinion is ludicrous. These men pose a threat to society not only for what they might do but for what they represent to white supremacists and other extremists as an example of initial lack of response of law enforcement and then what might happen.

This author is simply out of touch.

[exboyfil]

4. They hunted him

Life imprisonment is not extreme at all. The sister even put the victim's corpse on social media.

[Sneederbunk]

5. Yes, troubled by the Bryan sentence.

[inthewind21]

19. Really

What sentence would you suggest for someone who is an accomplice to cold blooded murder and videos it?

[Demsrule86]

62. I am not troubled at all...he hit Arbery with his car in order to trap him and he has parole

after 30 years. The other two have life without parole as they should.

[Runningdawg]

6. Guess I'm old and becoming delusional, I still believe in justice.

Justice for both those who commit hate crimes and those most often the target.

[The Magistrate]

7. I Agree The Sentences Are Not What Justice Requires, Sir

A bonfire, a few yards of chain, and a convenient old oak tree would be far more appropriate for people engaged in a lynching....

[LenaBaby61]

8. The Post is slowly beginning to SUCK.

Except for a few over there like Eugene Robinson.

I have to get most of my news from overseas, because most in the so-called liberal but not liberal at all press/media suck.

[luv2fly]

9. What's the "right" sentence then?

The author gets on a high horse and while such a stance may be laudable, he fails to share what he, as a former public defender, feels is the "right" sentence. It's easy to bitch about stuff, but if he is going to condemn the system that imposes such a sentence, at least suggest A) how to fix it, and B) in this case, what might be the proper consequence? His suggestions are merely regurgitations of that which has already been shared by many... nothing new here.

[CatWoman]

10. give me a fucking break

I watched the entire trial, starting from pretrial motions, on youtube many, many times.

Those men (the father and son) thought they were modern day heroes for what they did. They were convinced it was their righteous duty to kill that young man, and they were well within the law and their rights for doing so. I'm still trying to figure out why the idiot who recorded the stalking and murder did so. For kicks, maybe? It was posted on their social media -- a good thing as they weren't arrested and charged until that video surfaced.

The father was former law enforcement and should have known better. He and his son lied on the witness stand trying to justify their racism and murder of an innocent jogger. They even tried to portray the jogger as a robbery suspect. Who the hell robs a house dressed in baggy shorts and a tee shirt? Where was he going to put his "loot"? In his shoes???

In the case of these three sniveling cowards the Washington Post can go fuck themselves.

[mcar]

12. I watched it all too

and agree with you 100%.

[txwhitedove]

13. Perfect.

[inthewind21]

22. 100% agree

I watched it too. Those three behaved in court as if it were 1955 Alabama and they were perfectly justified.

[leftyladyfrommo]

24. See, that's what I don't get. These people actually live in

a completely alternate reality. Did they really believe they were agents of righteousness? Or is it just an elaborate mind game they play to amuse themselves?

[CatWoman]

58. testimony revealed they routinely approached outsiders with their guns drawn

as if they had a license to police the community.

Only thing is, with Arbery they took it to another level.

[Aristus]

11. So......juice and cookies, a pat on the head and send them home?

They murdered a man in cold blood. Murdered him in cold blood. Not the least of which reasons is because they thought they could get away with it. They didn't, thank the Spirit of Justice. Now they face the consequences they thought they'd never be handed.

Justice is done. It doesn't have to be pretty. It simply has to be just. And it is.

[tulipsandroses]

14. This black Woman in GA feels safer now that these 3 hateful murderers are behind bars

I don’t even feel the need to write a nuanced response. The punishment fits the crime. The writer can kiss my black ass.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

16. +100. nt

[Hekate]

52. Works for me, tulipsandroses

[Iris]

59. This

Enough said.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

15. If black men had hunted down and murdered a white man just because of the color of skin,

then I would feel the same way as this case, the sentences are valid and I wholly support it.

These men showed no mercy, they should have never pursued him in the first place, they were vigilantes out to kill someone that didn't look like them.

[Wingus Dingus]

17. I don't think the video recorder guy should have received a life sentence.

Certainly jail time, but he didn't kill the guy. The other two guys are straight up killers and need to rot.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

20. Manson didn't kill anyone either...

[Wingus Dingus]

27. Did this video-taking guy organize and direct the killing?

I got the sense he was a participant, and deserves jail time. But I had not heard he was the ringleader of the event.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

33. It doesn't matter if he pulled the trigger, he was part of a murder, which makes him

just as culpable.

Just like if bank robbers kill someone in the commission of a crime, even the getaway driver is guilty of murder, even though the driver wasn't in the bank or pulled the trigger, this is well established law.

[Solomon]

46. he helped to trap Arbery who was murdered when he couldn't get away.

Why should he get off lighter? But the fact is, he did. His life sentence is not without possibility of parole like the others.

[Wingus Dingus]

54. Yes--he was found to have participated in detaining Arbery, and not just a passive witness.

And he was a horrific racist, apparently. But according to what I've read he hadn't communicated with his neighbors beforehand about what the father/son were trying to do with Arbery, and wasn't himself armed for a confrontation. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.

[inthewind21]

21. So

You think Manson got a raw deal too? Got it.

[leftyladyfrommo]

25. That wasn't the point. Manson never physically killed

anyone but he was as guilty as any of the kids that did.

I don't know about the sentences but how could you stand there and film something like that and not drop the camera and try to stop it?

[Solomon]

48. he did a bit more than just film it. He was helping to cut off Arbery's escape.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

35. No, I think that complaining someone involved in a lynching was too heavily sentenced

Is a bad look for a Democrat.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

18. I fairly certain that none of these 3 were locked up for committing "low-level, nonviolent crimes"

and that their incarceration won't tilt the racial composition of our prisons in a regressive direcion, and that at least two of the men were far beyond the age when the author suggests that men age-out of committing violent crimes.

The arguments seem all wet to me.

Time for society to be on notice that you can just shoot people down for being black and expect to (always) get away with it. And about freaking time.

Just sentences.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

37. Think you meant can't rather than can (nt)

[Just A Box Of Rain]

50. Yes, of course.

[Spazito]

23. They're still breathing, Ahmaud Arbery isn't...

they got off easy compared to him.

[Bettie]

26. So, what were they supposed to get?

A pat on the head and a firm "don't let it happen again, boys!"?

They hunted this man down and murdered him, while filming it for their later enjoyment.

So, no, the sentences aren't extreme.

[samsingh]

28. i find this argument to be disgusting. Maybe the energy is better served being focused on the man

who they murdered.

[lees1975]

29. Sorry, but no.

Aside from the fact that these guys essentially went free for a long time after they committed the crime, this isn't part of some bigger picture "reform" strategy. In these cases, the killers got leniency in that they're still alive.

[samsingh]

30. i find this argument to be offensive

[EnergizedLib]

31. Do you know what's extreme?

Somebody who was jogging while black was killed for no reason.

[Calculating]

32. More justice than their victim got

He didn't get a trial

[RockRaven]

34. Strongly disagree. If you pursuit-hunt and kill another human, you SHOULD get life in prison.

Not for vengeance or retribution or punishment for punishments sake, but to protect all of us from your murdering ass. You're clearly not up to the task of living in a society without harming others.

[Hekate]

36. They hunted him down like an animal, like a rabid dog. This is what prisons are for, frankly

Last edited Fri Aug 12, 2022, 03:13 PM - Edit history (1)

The fact that we “are the world’s biggest incarcerator” does not take away from that. Not one bit.

Reform our broken system — please do, I literally beg you.

But don’t demand mercy for those who show none. Mercy to those who commit a heinous act, is cruelty to the innocent and victims. Justice is what is needed.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

38. I could maybe entertain an argument for the videographer's sentence, but not the father/son (nt)

[Samrob]

39. Sorry, but DEATH is "extreme." nt

[Coventina]

40. WTAF? No. Racist murderers have to pay a high price.

Nothing gives that murdered man his life back. Nothing.

I don't believe in the DP, but life in prison is fair for what they did.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

41. So, did this turn out the way you thought it would?

I suspect it did.

[Carlitos Brigante]

44. Been doing it for years. Capt. Contrarian over here has never seen a RW talking

point they didn't want to share.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

47. Yup,

been on the receiving end of it.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

63. I find people who aren't 100% doctrinaire in their views to be a refreshing addition to DU, myself

Can get to be a bit boring over time if everyone just agrees reflexively. Sometimes it's interesting to see the discussion when someone takes a contrary view.

Former9thWard is cool by me.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

42. Maybe future hunters of human beings will think twice and stay home. Keep 'em locked up.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

43. You're trolling aren't you?

If so, well done.

[Hekate]

57. He's terribly concerned

[stillcool]

45. I feel sick.

[pwb]

49. My take was they hunted this man down for fun.

The two killers deserve what they got. The film taker Bryan could earn parole in 20 years maybe but who does that?

[Hortensis]

51. They're not as long as the life they deliberately took from a 25-year-old,

and they'll get to be alive while serving them. This is not equal vengeance but as close as I care to get to proportional punishment.

[maxsolomon]

53. The question is what a life sentence accomplishes.

I'm quite aware DU feels the murderers deserve what they got.

But what is the point? Vengeance? Deterrence? Rehabilitation? Protection of the public? Those are all purposes of Prison sentences, but it's hard to argue multiple life sentences accomplishes anything but the 1st.

35 years may mean Bryan gets out on parole before his death - barely. Maybe in 20 years.

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.

[Coventina]

60. I'll attempt to answer that question

Life sentences, at the very minimum, prevent the perpetrator from further murders (at least in the general population).

Multiple life sentences show the society's attitude toward the crime committed. This was not a crime of accident, negligence, or passion. This was an act of violence that was staged against a victim who represented a subset of the citizenry.
It was done with intent to enact violence against the entirety of that group of citizens, and to send the message that those citizens are not allowed to live their lives in safety - EVER.

This sentence sends the message that as a society, we do not tolerate such actions. It may not deter others from acting in that hateful way, but it is important that WE THE PEOPLE express our collective condemnation of such acts.

[Higherarky]

64. Well stated, Coventina.

Thank you.

Also, thanx to the poster upthread who pointed out these murderers had long since passed the point of "aging out" of this particularly henous behavior.

[Greybnk48]

55. Hunting and killing humans with rifles from a pick-up truck?????

The murderers should have been put before a firing squad, televised. Too extreme my ass, WAPO.

[Demsrule86]

61. What is wrong with the post...those bastards hunted a man down like an animal...they

deserved life without parole. They have no right to detain him or shoot him for Fuck's sake.