Prosecutors Strike Hate-Crime Plea Deals in Ahmaud Arbery Killing
The New York Times
The victim’s mother denounced the deals made with two of the three men convicted of murder, saying she wants a federal trial to put any self-defense arguments to rest.
ATLANTA — Prosecutors have reached a plea deal with two of the three white men facing federal hate-crimes charges for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, the Black man who was chased through a Georgia neighborhood and fatally shot, court documents show.
But Mr. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, denounced the pleas. In an interview late Sunday, Ms. Cooper-Jones said of the federal prosecutors: “They went behind my back. I’m totally, totally upset. My anxiety is over the roof.”
She said that federal officials had asked her earlier if she approved of a deal, and that she had told them no. Ms. Cooper-Jones said she would try to persuade a judge to reject the plea agreements in a hearing Monday morning.
