The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery fears that he'll be killed in a Georgia state prison, where he is set to serve a life sentence.
But a federal judge denied Travis McMichael's request to be sent to a federal facility instead on Monday.
McMichael's lawyer, Amy Lee Copeland, said his image — "including his bright red hair" — has been circulated among inmates at the Georgia prison.
Copeland said sending McMichael to state prison would be a "backdoor death penalty," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"Even a defendant who is publicly reviled…deserves 8th Amendment protections," McMichael's lawyer told a judge Monday, according to First Coast News investigative reporter Anne Schindler.
US District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced McMichael to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a sentence on top of his previous life sentence in state court.
McMichael's father, Greg, and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, are also due to be sentenced in federal court. All three men were found guilty of Arbery's murder.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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