EXCLUSIVE – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says that justice was served after a choose sentenced the 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela who was convicted of murdering Laken Riley to a life sentence in jail.
“I am glad that justice was served, and it was swift and extreme,” the governor stated in a Fox Information Digital interview on Wednesday quickly after a choose in Athens County, Georgia convicted after which sentenced Jose Antonio Ibarra, a migrant who had entered the U.S. illegally.
Kemp stated that the conviction and sentencing was “no shock” and emphasised that Riley’s homicide was “a extremely tragic set of circumstances. Tragic for that household and I’ve definitely had them in my ideas and prayers. I do know that individuals in Georgia and across the nation have.”
JUDGE ANNOUNCES SENTENCE IN LAKEN RILEY MURDER TRIAL
Members of the family and mates of Laken Riley react as Superior Court docket Decide H. Patrick Haggard declares the decision throughout a trial of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court docket, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Structure by way of AP, Pool)
The 22-year-old Riley, a nursing pupil, was attacked in February whereas operating on a path on the College of Georgia campus in Athens. Ibarra was charged in reference to the killing a day later.
The choose, H. Patrick Haggard of State Superior Court docket in Athens-Clarke County, slightly than a jury, determined the case following a request from Ibarra’s attorneys after they unsuccessfully labored to maneuver the case out of Athens.
A translator assists defendant Jose Ibarra together with his headphones throughout his trial on the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court docket, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Structure by way of AP, Pool)
Riley’s killing was repeatedly spotlighted by now-President-elect Trump throughout this yr’s presidential marketing campaign, as he argued for the mass deportation of tens of millions of undocumented migrants within the nation.
Kemp, taking purpose at President Biden’s border safety actions, argued that “the insurance policies are outrageous. They’ve gotten individuals killed not solely in Georgia however across the nation and that is why our individuals elected Donald Trump to be our president, or at the least an enormous motive for that. So we sit up for working with the administration like we did of their first time period to safe the border and ensure this stuff aren’t taking place in our native communities.”
Laken Riley poses for a photograph posted to Fb. Riley, a nursing pupil on the College of Georgia, was discovered useless close to a lake on campus on Feb. 22. (Laken Riley/Fb)
And Kemp emphasised that “it’s simply actually heartbreaking for this household, for her fellow college students that she was in class with, for her mates, for native communities and actually for the entire state.”
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Kemp was interviewed by Fox Information Digital in Marco Island, Florida, minutes after he was elected chair of the Republican Governors Affiliation.Â
