Former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of George Floyd’s murder.
- Derek Chauvin, 46, was found guilty of George Floyd’s killing on May 25, 2020.
- The former Minneapolis Police officer could face up to 75 years behind bars.
- George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, said: “Justice for George, it means freedom for all!”
Justice has been served. Following a three-week trial regarding George Floyd’s tragic death, the Minneapolis Police officer who knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and killed him was finally found guilty on all charges.
According to UNILAD, at the trial, jurors heard testimony from 45 witnesses, including doctors, police officers, and bystanders at the arrest. On April 19, lawyers made their closing statements, and the jury retired to consider its verdict. Derek Chauvin, the former officer responsible for Floyd’s death, was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter.
Chauvin faces up to 75 years in jail.
As Daily Mail reports, Chauvin faces a minimum sentence of 12.5 years and a maximum of 40 years. That’s only in case he serves terms for each charge concurrently. If the former cop served consecutively, he faces between 29 and 75 years.
As per CNN, the maximum sentence for third-degree murder is imprisonment of not more than 25 years, while the maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter is 10 years and/or $20,000.
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, claimed his client’s actions were what “any reasonable officer” would have done in such a “dynamic” situation, referring to Floyd’s arrest. He also mentioned the fact that the cop’s bodycam and badge were knocked off, which, according to the lawyer, highlighted “the intensity of the struggle,” as reported by BBC News.
Contrarily, prosecutor Steve Schleicher, who described the harrowing scene as “murder,” urged the jury to use their “common sense.” He added:
“Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw. This wasn’t policing, this was murder!”
Prior to the trial, George Floyd’s family held a vigil in his memory.
Ahead of Derek Chauvin’s prosecution, Floyd’s brother Terrence Floyd said:
“We are [a] God-fearing family, we [are] church people. So, therefore, I’m just going to end it on this – we’re asking the system for the justice.”
Philonise Floyd, also a brother of George Floyd, said the guilty verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial was “so much of a relief,” after spending countless sleepless nights thinking about the outcome of the case. He commented:
“But today I won’t get that time to sleep, because I’m going to stay up and I’m going to celebrate, because this is a day of celebration. I’m happy, man.
Justice for George, it means freedom for all!“
