welcome back to the program. the three white men who murdered ahmaud arbery were sentenced to life in prison friday with two having no chance of parole. the 25-year-old black man was jogging in a south georgia neighborhood when the three men gave chase and shot him in february of 2020. more now from cnn s ryan young. today the deficits defendants are being held accountable reporter: two of the three men convicted of killing ahmaud arbery sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison, life without the possibilitier of parole. after ahmaud arbery fell, the mcmichaels turned their backs to a disturbing image, and they walked away. this was a killing. it was callus reporter: william bryan jr. sentenced to serve life with the possibility of parole after 30
of our life. we will never see ahmaud again. so i feel they should stay behind them bars rest of their life because they didn t give him a chance. the loss of ahmaud has devastated me and my family. so i m asking that the men that killed him be given the maximum sentence available to the court. reporter: last november the mcmichaels and bryan were convicted of murder after chasing 25-year-old ahmaud arbery in their vehicles while he jogged in the neighborhood killing him after they said they thought they see arbery inside an unfinished home on february 23rd, 2020. it took 2.5 months before arrests were made after video bryan took of the murder was released and went viral. these three men face additional federal charges. that case is scheduled to be heard in february. so it s not over for them just yet. a lot of people are paying attention to this, especially because the prosecutor who was originally involved in this case faces her own set of charges
catie beck has more. reporter: it was an emotional day in court as the three men convicted of murder of ahmaud arbery were sentenced. the judge called it a tragedy and said his sentencing was a measure of accountability. the father and son guilty of the 2020 murder of ahmaud arbery will spend the rest of their days behind bars. a young man with dreams was gunned down in this community. reporter: judge timothy wamsley calling it accountability, for greg and son travis mcmichael, a sentence of plief without parole and for neighbor william bryan a life sentence with the possibility of parole. the decision after hours of testimony, ahmaud arbery s parents describing broken hearts that will never heal. son, i love you. as much today as i did today that you were born. reporter: attorneys for the defendants calling life without parole a punishment too severe. nothing in travis mcmichael s
years. he had grave concerns that what had occurred should not have occurred. and i think that does make mr. bryan s situation a little bit different. however, mr. bryan has been convicted of felony murder. reporter: before reading the sentences, the judge paused for one minute. i want us to get a concept of time. what i m going to do is i m going to sit silently for one minute. i kept coming back to the terror that must have been in the mind of the young man running through satilla shores. reporter: the court heard powerful statements from ahmaud arbery s family. i laid you to rest. i told you i loved you, and someday, somehow i would get you just. reporter: his mother spoke directly to her son and to the men responsible for his death. these men have chose to lie
york prosecutor. he s an nbc news legal analyst. katie, who are we hearing from this court today and when can we expect the sentences to be handed down? reporter: well, as you said, this is a mandatory life sentence. the judge is determining whether any of the three defendants should have given the possibility of parole after serving 30 years. he will make that decision after hearing several testimonies from the stand. we know that arbery s mother and father will make brief statements. we don t know if anyone will call we know the defendants themselves will be given an opportunity to speak to the judge directly before they are sentenced. now, outside the courtroom, we re seeing a lot of the same familiar faces we ve been seeing throughout the trial. a lot of advocates for racial justice supporting the arbery family. this morning in the way into the courtroom, his mother talked and spoke to the media saying she will be seeking the harshest