Ahmaud Arbery’s killer Gregory McMichael, 68, is being transferred from prison to a secure HOSPITAL – but officials won’t say what’s wrong with him
- Three men – Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. – were convicted of the November 2021 murder of Ahmaud Arbery
- Arbery, 25, was shot dead while jogging near his home in February 2020: a jury found his murder at the hands of three white men was racially motivated
- In August, the McMichaels were sentenced to life in prison without parole; Bryan is eligible after 30 years
- It emerged on Tuesday that the elderly McMichael, whose lawyer said he had suffered from a stroke and depression, had been hospitalized
- It’s unclear if he has fallen ill or if Augusta State Medical Facility will be his permanent home
One of three men convicted of the racist murder of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery has been transferred to a hospital medical facility, with Georgian authorities refusing to say why.
Gregory McMichael, 68, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August and was sent to Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison near Jackson.
But on Tuesday, it emerged that he is now in Augusta State Medical Prison.
It was unclear if he was temporarily transferred there due to illness or if it was a long-term situation.
AJ Balbo, McMichael’s attorney, cited his age and health issues after his August hate crime conviction. He suffered a stroke a few years ago, has a heart condition and takes medication for depression and anxiety.
Ahmaud Arbery (left) was shot dead while jogging through his Georgia neighborhood in February 2020. Gregory McMichael (right) was convicted of murder
Pictured: Travis McMichael (left), his father Gregory McMichael (center) and their neighbor William Bryan Jr. (right)
The map above shows Ahmaud Arbery’s approximate path and the locations of the events that occurred on February 23, 2020
Neither Balbo nor the Arbery family attorney have responded to ‘s request for comment.
Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, told the judge in January last year that she was vehemently opposed to any of the three getting special treatment when her attorneys argued they were unsafe in state prison.
“If I were to give these men their preferred choice of imprisonment, I would be defeated,” she said.
“It gives them one last chance to spit in my face.”
Joan Heath, director of the DOC’s Georgia office of public affairs, told ABC News that McMichael did not serve his sentence in the original prison, but would not say why he had been transferred to hospitals.
“Once offenders complete the diagnostic process at the GA Diagnostic and Classification Prison, they are transferred to their permanent placement assignment based on their individual diagnostic assessment, as is offender McMichael,” she said.
“The diagnostic process is routine for all offenders entering the GDC.
“Specific details of diagnostic assessments are part of an offender’s institutional record and are not subject to disclosure.”
Gregory McMichael is now being held at Augusta State Medical Prison (pictured)
Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said in January 2022 she didn’t want the trio to receive special treatment in prison
Augusta State Medical Prison houses “major medical cases,” according to the Georgia DOC, and provides “centralized level IV acute, specialized medical and mental health services to male and female offenders, primarily as transients.”
McMichael was convicted along with his son Travis McMichael, 36, the man who fatally shot Arbery.
A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Last August, the McMichaels were again sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of federal hate crimes.
Bryan was sentenced to an additional 35 years.
Three white men guilty of Ahmaud Arbery faced a total of 27 counts — each of them says so
NUMBER 1 – MALICE MURDER
This is defined as bringing about the death of a person with premeditated intent, without provocation and “when all circumstances surrounding the killing show a surrendered and malicious heart.”
Travis McMichael – Guilty
Gregory McMichael – Not guilty
William ‘Roddie’ Bryan – Not guilty
NUMBER 2, 3, 4 AND 5 – CRIME MURDER
This applies when a death is caused in the course of the commission of another crime, whether or not the killing was intentional or unprovoked.
Travis McMichael – Guilty on all counts
Gregory McMichael – Guilty on all counts
William ‘Roddie’ Bryan – Guilty on three counts, not guilty on one count
NUMBER 6 and 7 – HEAVY ATTACK
According to Georgian law, this is an attack with a deadly weapon. Count six relates to the shotgun used, count 7 relates to the two pickup trucks driven by Gregory McMichael and William ‘Roddie’ Bryan that were used to surround Arbery.
Travis McMichael – Guilty
Gregory McMichael – Not guilty of Count 6; Guilty on Count 7
William ‘Roddie’ Bryan – Not guilty of count 6; Guilty on Count 7
COUNT 8 – FALSE DETAINMENT
This is when a person “arrests, imprisons or detains” another person without legal authority.
Travis McMichael – Guilty
Gregory McMichael – Guilty
William ‘Roddie’ Bryan – Guilty
NUMBER 9 – CRIMINAL INTENT TO COMMIT A CRIME
This refers to taking “any act which constitutes an essential step” towards the intentional commission of a crime
Travis McMichael – Guilty
Gregory McMichael – Guilty
William ‘Roddie’ Bryan – Guilty