Derek Chauvin, former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd, has on Friday been sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison
The former policeman, who is white, was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck and back for more than 9 minutes on May 25 as he called for his mother and cried, ‘I can’t breathe’. Floyd, 46, died that day.
Floyd’s gruesome death — captured in a harrowing bystander video that was posted to Facebook and widely viewed — ignited a reckoning on racial disparities in America and fueled calls for police reform.
Then in April, Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.
The 12-person jury settled upon their verdict after less than a day of deliberation and the unanimous verdict was read at Hennepin County Court and live streamed for the world to watch.
Hennepin County District Judge, Peter Cahill said his sentence was not based on public opinion, “emotion or sympathy.”
He expressed that he was not trying “send any messages”, adding;
But at the same time I want to acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all the families are feeling, especially the Floyd family.
Hours before the hearing began, Cahill denied a request from probation and a retrial requested for by Chauvin’s lawyer.
The lawyer argued that he was deprived of a fair trial because of prosecutorial and jury misconduct and errors of law at trial.
With the sentencing, Chauvin’s legal team is likely to take their arguments to the Court of Appeals.
Speaking before the sentence was announced, Chauvin expressed condolence to the family of Floyd but did not tender an apology for his action.
He said;
At this time due to some additional legal matters at hand I’m not able to give a full, formal statement. I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family. There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope things will give you some, some peace of mind.
The sentencing hearing began with statements from four of Floyd’s family members.
Floyd’s daughter Gianna, his brothers Terrence Floyd and Philonise Floyd and his nephew Brandon Williams all spoke during the hearing.
Gianna, who appeared by video, said she asks about her father “all the time” and misses that he is not around to help her brush her teeth at night.
“I want to play with him, have fun, go on a plane ride,” the 7-year-old said.
Also, Philonise Floyd said that he has begged every day for justice to be served.
Meanwhile, under Minnesota statutes, Chauvin could be sentenced only on the most serious charge: unintentional second-degree murder, which has a maximum sentence of 40 years, NBC reports.
Cahill could have sentenced Chauvin to as little as 10 years and eight months or as much as 15 years in prison and remained within sentencing guidelines.
The presumptive sentence for a person like Chauvin, who had no criminal history, is 12½ years for second-degree murder.
As for the three other former police officers involved in Floyd’s arrest — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, a trial date has not been set on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Cahill delayed the trial of Kueng, Lane and Thao, who are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and whose trial was originally scheduled to begin in August, to March 2022.
He said he wanted to put some distance between their trial and Chauvin’s trial, adding that he wanted them to be tried on the federal charges first.
