Parents of Ahmaud Arbery object to plea deal proposed federal prosecutors for their son's killers

Federal prosecutors have proposed a plea deal for the father and son convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery that would stop a hate crime trial from taking place. The parents of the murdered black man, however, are not so pleased with the suggestion. 

Wanda Cooper-Jones, the late Arbery's mother, will ask the judge next week to reject the deal, according to her attorney.

Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, told reporters outside the Georgia courthouse that he is "mad as hell" over the potential of the deal. 

"Ahmaud is a kid you cannot replace. He was killed racially and we want 100% justice, not no half justice," said the young man's father.

"I fought so hard to get these guys in the state prison. I told them very, very adamantly that I wanted them to go to state prison and do their time," Cooper-Jones said. "Then I got up this morning and found out they had accepted this ridiculous plea."

Under the proposed deal, Travis and Greg McMichael could each spend the first 30 years of their lifetime sentences in federal prison, rather than state prison, where living conditions are known to be significantly rougher. 

In November, a jury found Travis McMichael guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony in Arbery's Feb. 23, 2020, death Brunswick, Georgia, according to CNN.

Gregory McMichael was acquitted on a malice murder charge but found guilty of the other charges.

Late Sunday, the proposed plea agreements were filed with the court but were not mentioned by federal prosecutors during the court's morning session on Monday.

It is also unclear how the plea would impact the McMichaels' co-defendant,William "Roddie" Bryan, who was also sentenced to life in prison for the killing. 

Bryan was found guilty of three counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment, and one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony. He was acquitted of malice murder, one count of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault, also according to CNN. 

The hate crime charges accuse the McMichaels and Bryan of violating the 25-year-old Arbery's civil rights by chasing him through their neighborhood in early 2020 in vehicles before eventually opening fire with a shotgun.