Ahmaud Arbery: Gregory and Travis McMichael isolated in jail to prevent angry inmates from beating them to death
The suspects accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, the father and son duo, are allegedly being isolated from other prisoners for their own safety, according to reports.
The accused, 64-year-old Gregory McMichael — a former police officer — and 34-year-old Travis McMichael, shot 25-year-old Arbery dead on February 23 on a street in broad daylight while he was jogging. The pair reportedly suspected him to be a burglar running around the neighborhood. Arbery was shot thrice and was reported dead on the scene.
The killing was captured on video. After the video of the assault was recently released on social media, the incident sparked a widespread racial outcry in the country and has led many to question why the suspects were arrested only after the outrage. The duo was charged with murder within days of the video being released on social media.
Both men are being held in a separate wing of the Glynn County Detention Center, in Brunswick, Georgia, according to TMZ. They reportedly eat alone and are kept isolated from other prisoners for their own safety. The outlet claimed that there are no televisions in the section of the prison the men are being kept in so that they cannot follow the updates of the case in the news. Glynn County Undersheriff Ron Corbett did not reveal to the outlet whether the men are on suicide watch or not.
The details of the father-son duo's prison arrangement comes shortly after Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told the outlet on Tuesday, May 12, that she hopes prosecutors seek the death penalty against the McMichaels.
"I would like all hands involved, that played a part in my son's murder to be prosecuted to the highest [degree]," she said. "Coming from a mother's point of view: my son died, and so they should die as well." When asked whether she would be opposed to death penalty sentence in the case, she said she'd "totally agree with that."
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr on May 11 appointed Joyette M Holmes, Cobb County's first African-American district attorney, to oversee the case. "District Attorney Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge,' state Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, said in a statement. "And the Cobb County District Attorney's office has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done."
Carr made the appointment shortly after he asked the Justice Department to investigate how the case was handled by Georgia law enforcement. Prior to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's involvement in the case last week, two prosecutors were replaced after they cited a potential conflict of interest as both had connections to Gregory McMichael.
Arbery's mother welcomed Holmes' appointment, saying she had spoken to the prosecutor and had full faith in her abilities to bring justice for her son. "I think with the counsel I have and also the newly assigned DA [Holmes], I think we will get justice for Ahmaud," Cooper-Jones said, adding that the prosecutor was also confident her son's killers would be convicted.