Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd, has been sentenced to 22 years and six months for second-degree murder, closing one chapter of a case that thrust the issue of race and American policing back into the global spotlight.
The 45-year-old appeared in court on Friday, two months after a jury found him guilty on three charges related to Floyd’s death.
A year ago on May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, while being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds leading to his death.
The sentence, issued by the Hennepin county judge Peter Cahill, was a 10-year increase to the state’s recommended sentencing guidance for second-degree murder.
Prosecutors successfully argued that Chauvin should face harsher sentencing due to a range of aggravating factors.
Cahill offered only brief remarks before delivering the sentence, saying his decision was “not based on emotion or sympathy” but adding; “I want to acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all the families are feeling, especially the Floyd family.”
Cahill explained his reasoning for the harsher sentence in a 22-page sentencing memorandum released by the court, writing; “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 neighbor.”
The announcement followed victim impact statements from members of the Floyd family including his seven-year-old daughter Gianna. In a recorded video message, she was asked what she would say to her father today.
“It would be I miss you and I love him,” she said.
Prosecutors sought a maximum sentence of 30 years, a plea reiterated by members of the Floyd family as they delivered statements in person.
