Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for murder of George Floyd
25 June 2021
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on Friday by a Minnesota judge for the murder of George Floyd.
State of play: The sentence from Judge Peter Cahill is about in line with what most legal experts expected. Prosecutors had asked for 30 years.
- Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, had argued that his client should only receive probation as he was part of a "broken system."
- Floyd's daughter, 7-year-old Gianna Floyd, his nephew Brandon Williams, his brothers Terrance and Philonise Floyd all read victim statements prior to the sentencing.
- "I miss you and I love you," Gianna said, via video, when asked what she would say to her father.
- "We don't want to see more slaps on the wrist," Terrance Floyd said, while asking for the maximum sentence.
The backdrop: A presumptive sentence for second-degree murder under Minnesota's guidelines called for 12.5 years, though the maximum for the charge is 40 years.
- Since Cahill found four aggravating factors in Floyd's murder, he could depart from those guidelines.
Worth noting: In Minnesota, it's presumptive that prisoners with a good behavioral record will only spend two-thirds of their sentence behind bars — with the rest on parole.
No surprise: Chauvin spoke very briefly own behalf but did not give a full formal statement due to "some additional legal matters."
- "I'm not able to give a full formal statement at this time...I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family," he said. "There's going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest, and I hope things will give you some peace of mind. Thank you."
- Legal experts said it could have hurt him in his appeal of the verdict — and some wondered how much it would sway Cahill.
- Chauvin's mother Carolyn Pawlenty spoke in court on behalf of the family.
- "I believe a lengthy sentence will not serve Derek well," she said. "When you sentence my son, you will also be sentencing me."
What's next: Chauvin's sentencing is nowhere near the end of the legal road for those involved in Floyd's murder.
- Chauvin has 90 days to appeal the decision — a move he and his defense are team are sure to make. The Minnesota Court of Appeals will then have a year to decide to affirm or overturn the conviction.
- Chauvin and the three other former officers present for Floyd's murder, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, are also facing federal civil rights charges.
- The criminal trial for the three other ex-cops is scheduled for March.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.