Ahmaud Arbery’s Mother Calls For Death Penalty For Son’s Killers
The mother of Ahmaud Arbery says the men who were responsible for her son’s slaying should get the death penalty.
"Coming from my point of view, my son died, so they should die as well,” Wanda Cooper-Jones told TMZ on Tuesday (May 12). “I would like for all hands that were involved, that played a part in my son’s murder to be prosecuted to the highest.”
Arbery’s killers, Greg and Travis McMichaels, were arrested last week and charged with felony murder.
A new prosecutor, Cobb County district attorney Joyette Holmes was named to the case, but it is unclear if she will pursue the death penalty against the father and son.
Video of Arbery’s Feb. 23 death ignited nationwide outrage and led to a grand jury investigation of the incident in which the McMichaels followed the man as he jogged through a Brunswick, Georgia neighborhood, suspecting that he was a burglar. The confrontation ended with Arbery being shot to death.
Bail has not been set for the accused killers and future court hearings, including a formal indictment, must wait until after coronavirus restrictions are lifted June 12, according to CNN.
Georgia is a death penalty state and the law dictates it can be sought if the homicide "was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated battery to the victim," according to state statute.
Cooper-Jones said that Holmes reached out to introduce herself. While she did not share exactly what they discussed, she said that “with the newly assigned D.A….we will get justice for Ahmaud.”
