The US court that convicted Chicago police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of African-American citizen George Floyd sentenced him to 22 years and 5 months in prison on Friday. As a result of Chauvin’s 22-and-a-half-year sentence for unlawfully using force, the verdict has been hailed as a watershed moment in US policing history. He was due to be sentenced on June 25, almost two months after a jury convicted him of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The trial of Derek Chauvin
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill acknowledged that Chauvin had acted with ‘cruelty and abuse’ while abusing his power and authority in a 22-page sentencing memorandum. The judge asserted that he was not acting under pressure from the media or citizen movement and that a sentence of 22.5 years was just. Chauvin faces up to 10 years in prison for second-degree murder, 25 years for third-degree murder, and 10 years for manslaughter for the charges that he faced during the investigation. It is important to point out that the prosecution had sought a sentence of 30 years for the defendant, twice the time specified in the Guidelines.
Although Geoge Floyd’s death in May 2020 rose the Black Lives Matter movement to new heights of momentum and support, his brother Rodney and nephew Brandon Williams expressed their displeasure over the sentence. They compared the 22.5-year-sentence with the ‘life sentence’ they were facing instead of following the loss of their loved one. Along with Chauvin, the three other police officers who were present during George Floyd’s arrest and death will be tried next year. Their main charges involve conspiring to murder him. Chauvin is incarcerated in Minnesota’s maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights since his conviction. It is not clear where he will serve his sentence; but, in Minnesota, he will have the chance to leave prison in 15 years (two-thirds of his sentence) on a supervised visit if he displays good behavior.
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Murder of George Floyd
The 46-year-old African American man died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 after he was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. During the incident, a viral video widely seen by bystanders showed Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck, causing him to succumb then and there, unable to breathe after an 8-minute-46-second ordeal. The death of George Floyd sparked outrage over police brutality and racial prejudice in the US and around the world.
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