George Floyd Murder: Ex-Police Officer Derek Chauvin Sentenced To 22.5 Years In Prison

George Floyd was killed last year while getting arrested by the police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25^th, for allegedly using counterfeit money at a grocery store.

Floyd's unfortunate death took place as a result of asphyxiation which had been brought on by the act of Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressing his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes, despite Floyd repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe".

Judge Cahill, who, before sentencing Chauvin, denied his request for a new trial, in his sentencing memorandum, remarked:

"Part of the mission of the Minneapolis police department is to give citizens 'voice and respect'. Here, Mr Chauvin rather than pursuing the MPD mission, treated Mr Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings and which he certainly would have extended to a friend or neighbour."

Observing that the appropriate prison sentence for Chauvin was 270 months, the Court said:

"He must be held accountable for the death of Mr. Floyd and for doing so in a manner that was particularly cruel and an abuse of his authority."

It may be noted that in April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty on three counts – second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the murder of George Floyd.

Importantly, the Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill issued a 22-page explanation of his ruling and also, he made the following statements:

"I am not going to attempt to be profound or clever because it's not the appropriate time. I am not basing my sentence on public opinion. I'm not basing it on the attempt to send any messages. The job of a trial court judge is to apply the law to specific facts and to deal with individual cases."

While the prosecutors demanded that Chauvin be given a 30-year sentence, the Judge handed him a sentence of 22 and a half years (270 months) in prison, however, he is eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence, or about 15 years (with good behavior).

Importantly, Minnesota sentencing guidelines call for 12 1/2 years of sentence in prison, however, agreeing with prosecutors, Judge Peter Cahill said that there were aggravating circumstances which could justify a heavier punishment — among them, that Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, abused his position of authority as a police officer and did it in front of children.

Click Here To Read Sentencing Memorandum

Read Sentencing Memorandum