Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Prison. Convicted of "Unintentional 2nd-degree murder while committing a felony [assault]" 3rd Degree (unintentional) murder and 2nd Degree Manslaughter (negligence)

From [HERE] Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison for last year’s purposeful murder of George Floyd. 

Specifically, he was convicted today after a “jury returned guilty verdicts on April 20, 2021 on Count I, unintentional second-degree murder while committing a felony, Count II, third-degree murder, perpetrating an eminently dangerous act evincing a depraved mind, and Count III, second-degree manslaughter, culpable negligence creating an unreasonable risk.” [MORE]

At a Friday afternoon sentencing hearing, members of Floyd’s family and Chauvin’s mother gave statements. Chauvin, who was shown on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck during his fatal May 2020 arrest, made only a brief statement, saying that other ongoing legal proceedings prevented him from speaking much. Chauvin is also facing federal civil rights charges related to Floyd’s death and a similar detention of a teenager in 2017, along with tax fraud charges in his home county east of the Twin Cities. 

He expressed his condolences to the Floyd family and said “there’s going to be information coming out in the future that will be of interest” and that he hoped it would “bring them peace of mind.” 

Chauvin’s statement came after a series of victim impact statements from Floyd’s family members. His brothers Philonise and Terrence were joined by nephew Brandon Williams in court. Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter Gianna appeared via video. 

“I have had to sit through each day of Officer Derek Chauvin’s trial and watch the video of George dying… over and over again. For an entire year, I had to relive George’s torture and death every hour of the day,” Philonise Floyd said. “George’s life mattered. So my family and I, most of all my niece Gianna… she needs closure.” 

Terrence Floyd addressed Chauvin directly. “I wanted to know from the man himself, why? What were you thinking? What was going through your head when you had your knee on my brother’s neck?” he asked. 

He asked Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to consider what would have happened had a Black man killed someone in the way Chauvin did. “If it’d been us, there would have been no case. It would have been open-and-shut,” he said. “We’d have been under the jail. For murder…. We don’t want to see smacks on the wrist. We’ve seen that already.” 

Cahill took a 15-minute break after victim impact statements were completed, then issued Chauvin’s sentence. 

“As opposed to trying to be profound here on the record, I’m going to ask that you read the legal analysis,” the judge said, citing a memorandum he said would be filed with his order. 

“I acknowledge and hear the pain that you are feeling. I acknowledge the pain of not only those who are in this courtroom, but the Floyd family outside this courtroom and in the community,” he said, addressing the family. “It has been painful throughout Hennepin County, and in the state of Minnesota, and in this country.” 

Cahill said his sentence was not based on public opinion or meant to send a message.

The sentence, 10 years more than the recommended 12 years and 6 months under sentencing guidelines, is meant to comply with the law while acknowledging aggravating factors, the judge said.

The sentencing hearing began just hours after the judge issued a brief order denying the former officer’s motions for a new trial and for a hearing to investigate alleged juror misconduct. Cahill found in that order that Chauvin had not shown prosecutorial misconduct on the part of the state, that he was deprived of a fair trial, or that any jurors gave false testimony during the selection process. 

The statutory maximum sentence for second-degree murder in Minnesota is 40 years, but sentencing guidelines topped Chauvin’s possible sentences out at 30 years after accounting for aggravating factors. Prosecutors requested that top-level sentence, arguing that Chauvin “shocked the nation’s conscience” when he “brutally murdered Mr. Floyd, abusing the authority conferred by his badge.” 

Nelson, meanwhile, sought a probationary sentence with time served. He pointed to his client’s lack of criminal history and 19-year career with the department as evidence that “Mr. Chauvin still has the ability to positively impact his family and his community.” 

Cahill found in May that four of prosecutors’ five proposed aggravating sentencing factors applied in Chauvin’s case. He found that Floyd’s intoxication and restraint did not make him “particularly vulnerable,” but agreed with the state’s position that Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, killed him in front of several minors and did so with the active participation of three other people, namely fellow officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.

Speaking after the hearing, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office led the prosecution, said he hoped that Chauvin’s conviction and sentence would be a first step to broader change.