https://www.nairaland.com/6516113/derek-chauvin-found-guilty-all#100973653

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Friday to 22 years and six months in prison for murdering George Floyd, a videotaped killing that triggered the most profound racial upheaval in the U.S. since the civil rights era.

The punishment ended one chapter of a reckoning that spread from questions of official force to a broad reappraisal of discrimination inherent in American institutions. More than a year after the killing, matters of race have taken center stage as the nation emerges from protests and the pandemic.

A jury in April convicted Chauvin in the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man and father. On May 25, 2020, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds after detaining him on suspicion of passing a counterfeit bill. Floyd begged for mercy as his air supply dwindled.

Images of the incident, which followed years of high-profile police killings of Black men and women, spread swiftly across the internet and television screens. Ultimately, they led to the rare conviction of a police officer for excessive force.

Under Minnesota law, Chauvin faced up to four decades in prison. The prosecution team had requested Chauvin receive 30 years behind bars in a June 2 memo, saying that his actions “shocked the nation’s conscience” and that such a sentence would account for the “profound impact” on Floyd’s family and community.

Family Agony

Chauvin on Friday offered condolences to the family of his victim, the first time he spoke during his trial, but said little more because of pending legal issues.

During the sentencing, both families were allowed to speak of their particular grief.

Philonise Floyd, the victim’s brother, said the crime repeats itself without cease.

“Every day I have begged for justice to be served, reliving the execution of George,” he said “I haven’t had a real night’s sleep because of the nightmares of hearing my brother beg for his life over and over again.”

“My family and I have been given a life sentence.”

Carolyn Pawlenty, Chauvin’s mother, said she spoke for the family. She called her son “a quiet, thoughtful, honorable, and selfless man.”

“When he is released, his father and I most likely will not be here,” she said. Pawlenty addressed her son directly: “There is no stronger bond or love than a mother’s love.”

But Brandon Williams, Floyd’s nephew, observed that Chauvin, even in prison, “will have the luxury of seeing his family.”

Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the trial, had signaled that Chauvin could receive a longer sentence than recommended by state guidelines. After the conviction, Cahill said in a May 12 order that Chauvin had abused “a position of trust and authority” and treated Floyd “with particular cruelty.”

The judge also noted that children were witnesses to Floyd’s murder -- a 17-year-old made the video that turned the death into a cause, and she was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize this year for her citizen journalism.

Cahill said that Chauvin committed the crime with three other former officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, who were seen on the viral video assisting in the arrest. They are to be tried in March 2022.

Chauvin’s defense attorney, Eric Nelson, had asked the court in a June 2 memo to sentence his client to probation and time served. Nelson asked the court to “look beyond its findings, to his background, his lack of criminal history, his amenability to probation, to the unusual facts of this case, and to his being a product of a ‘broken’ system.”

Nelson also laid the groundwork for a potential appeal. Moments after jurors went into deliberation April 20, Nelson pleaded with Cahill to declare a mistrial, pointing to the “public context,” including comments from U.S. Representative Maxine Waters in which she urged protesters to “get more confrontational” if Chauvin wasn’t convicted.

Cahill denied Nelson’s bid, but acknowledged the defense may have grounds for an appeal. Hours before the sentencing, Cahill denied Chauvin’s request for a new trial, in which he argued that the judge didn’t do enough to insulate jurors from publicity and unrest surrounding the case.

Friday’s sentence is a mere beginning, national NAACP president Derrick Johnson said in a prepared statement.

“While George Floyd’s murderer was held accountable in court, we know that no amount of jail time is going to bring Gianna Floyd’s father back,” Johnson said. “Legislation is urgently needed to ensure that what happened to George Floyd over a year ago will not happen again a year from now, and devastate another family. We need a federal standard in policing to protect the lives of those often targeted.”

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said this week that an agreement on legislation to overhaul policing practices is close. Scott has been working with two Democrats, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Representative Karen Bass of California on a bill to make law enforcement officers more accountable for injuries and deaths they cause. Negotiations have been going on since April, when Chauvin was convicted.

But far from the halls of power, the crime’s impact was even more intense. Gianna Floyd, 7, once said her father changed the world, a phrase quoted by President Joe Biden. But in a videotaped statement, told the court Friday that she misses that world-changing man helping her to brush her teeth.

“I want to play with him,” she said.

[url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-25/ex-cop-chauvin-gets-22-1-2-years-in-prison-for-floyd-murder?cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-asia&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business]SOURCE [/url]

Good for him. But the time is too short. Should've been > 50 yrs

This sentence is an overkill by the judge who is apparently trying to seem politically correct for the black community.

Considering that Derek was a Law enforcement officer who had sacrificed his time and skill to help keep Minneapolis safe, they should have just sentenced him to 2-years imprisonment considering that he never intended to kill Big George.

How in the world was Derek to know that the same guy who could fvck for over 30minutes straight in his porn videos and a trained security personnel could not withstand a few minutes' knee-hold.

Just Don't just drop the soap , it slips leave it there.

Is this a manslaughter charge? Thought it was second degree? He should be jailed for life. Murderer!

Great

If Derek Chauvin was a black cop, it would have been 70yrs behind bars with hard labor.

jchioma:
Is this a manslaughter charge? Thought it was second degree? He should be jailed for life. Murderer!

Count 1: second-degree unintentional murder,

Count 2: third-degree murder and

Count 3: second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.

Chauvin was found guilty of all the counts against him, but in Minnesota, a person convicted of multiple crimes for a single incident is typically only sentenced for the most severe charge. In this case, that's second-degree murder.

The maximum sentence for that charge is 40 years, but state sentencing guidelines recommend 12.5 years in prison for a conviction on unintentional second-degree murder for someone with no criminal history.

Prosecutors sought an upward departure from that duration, arguing that there were multiple aggravating factors in the case.

AGGRAVATING FACTORS
-He abused Power and Authority
-He committed the act in the presence of persons under 18.
(Can't remember the two others).

The Defence Attorney argued that where there are aggravating factors, there are also mitigating factors.
Chauvin had served for 19 years with clean record.

PERSONAL VERDICT
He had an opportunity to perhaps have less but I believe the pressure of the case as well as he & his mother's Victim Impact Statements were "cocky" and non-emotional.

He had no colleague(s) who could even step up for him & all that.

His Attorney sounded more sympathetic to the Floyd family than even both of them.

However, the Judge might have even made up his mind before today.

Is he really a porn star ?

NwaAmaikpe:




This sentence is an overkill by the judge.
He is apparently trying to seem politically correct to the black community.

Considering that Derek was a Law enforcement officer who had sacrificed his time and skills to help keep Minneapolis safe, they should have just sentenced him to 2-years imprisonment considering that he never intended to kill Big George.

How in the world was Derek to know that the same guy who could fvck for over 30minutes straight in his porn videos could not withstand a few minutes' knee-hold.

I pity the man, he was just doing his job. Enjoy your time

Fast judgement unlike Nigeria dat suspect will be trail for dat 22.5yrs

Damnnn niggar
Justice

Welcome development

Nothing less than life imprisonment, will give me joy.

Knowing what black people have been through in America and the prevalence of racial discrimination under Donald Trump, I believe this is a step in the right direction. He took George Floyd's life because of a $20 bill and even though the guy begged for mercy, he ignored and killed him in cold blood. He snuffed the life out of him and he had no right to take his life.

#blacklivesmatter

To slap this mumu man dey hungry me

But why this man face resemble Okoro for my area ...

Small... This is unfair, i was expecting nothing less than 45

Nawaooooo

I see him bailed

This i have seen

Justice is served.

That's way too small.

Country where there is law.. Nigeria would have transferred that police to another station and lie that they sack him

Men go fall am for jail

Justice at last

NwaAmaikpe:




This sentence is an overkill by the judge.
He is apparently trying to seem politically correct to the black community.

Considering that Derek was a Law enforcement officer who had sacrificed his time and skills to help keep Minneapolis safe, they should have just sentenced him to 2-years imprisonment considering that he never intended to kill Big George.

How in the world was Derek to know that the same guy who could fvck for over 30minutes straight in his porn videos could not withstand a few minutes' knee-hold.

/
That's why you live in Nigeria.
If you make this kind of silly statement in US with the level of tension in the air, some people may take it upon themselves to hunt you down. The issue at stake has little to do with George Floyd.

/

Hmmmm...

May the soul of George rest in peace.

We are waiting for the sentencing of the other tortoises

Wow

Very gooder goergement if it is on Nigeria e happened it will tey bfor them are goerge the case but now sharp and sharp matter end

Today's sentencing is not justice, but it is another moment of real accountability on the road to justice,” Ellison said in a statement following the sentencing. “The outcome of this case is critically important, but by itself it’s not enough.