Death of George Floyd: Derek Chauvin sentenced to 21 years in prison by federal justice

He had already been sentenced to twenty-two years and a half of imprisonment by the justice of the state of Minnesota, but he called on the sentence. The federal, concomitant penalty, is final since it follows from a plea-guilty agreement.

Le Monde with AFP and reuters

Derek Chauvin, former police officer of the city of Minneapolis, was sentenced to twenty-one years’ imprisonment by the Federal Justice of the United States for having violated the civil rights of George Floyd during the arrest of The latter reports public radio of Minnesota. He pleaded guilty in December 2021.

The former 46-year-old agent had already been sentenced to twenty and a half years’ imprisonment by the justice of the state of Minnesota for having asphyxiated the African-American George Floyd with his knee, but he did Call of the sentence. The federal, concomitant penalty, is final since it stems from a plea-guilty agreement. It can be purged at the same time as the other sentence, said judge Paul Magnuson of the Saint-Paul court, giving him credit of the seven months already spent in detention.

“I don’t know why you did that, but placing your knee on someone’s neck until it dies is bad. And for that, you have to be severely punished,” said it the magistrate. During a short intervention, Derek Chauvin wished the children of George Floyd to “succeed in life”, without apologizing or expressing the slightest remorse.

His mother Carolyn Pawlenty assured that he was not a heartless racist, before adding “all lives count, whatever their skin color”, diverting the black Lives Matter slogan (“Lives black count “). Called at the helm, the brother of the deceased, Philonise Floyd, asked him “the maximum sentence” against Derek Chauvin, saying that she no longer sleeps since the drama.

demonstrations against racism

On May 25, 2020, Derek Chauvin, experienced agent of the Minneapolis police, had remained kneeling on the neck of the African-American for almost ten minutes, indifferent to the interventions of panicked passers-by and the groans of George Floyd. The scene, filmed and put online, had triggered immense demonstrations against racism and police violence in all the United States and beyond.

During a very followed trial before the court justice of the Minnesota State, in the spring of 2021, his lawyer had argued that George Floyd had died of an overdose, combined with health problems, and had assured that Derek Chauvin had made a justified use of force. He had not convinced the jurors and the former police officer had been found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty-two and a half in prison. He called on this verdict.

In parallel, federal justice had opened its own prosecution by charging it, as well as its three former colleagues, for “violation of constitutional rights” of George Floyd, more particularly “of the right not to be the victim of a Unreasonable use of force by a police officer “. These “doubles” prosecution is authorized in the United States, but relatively rare, and reflect the importance of this file which has reopened a fiery debate on the racist past of the United States.

In the federal file, George Floyd had first pleaded not guilty, before changing strategy in December 2021, admitting for the first time a share of responsibility. In his recognition of guilt, he had admitted having abused strength, “knowing that it was bad” and “without legal justification”.

He also recognized wrongs in violence inflicted on a 14-year-old black teenager in 2017, whom he had kept on the ground under his knee for a quarter of an hour.

In exchange for his recognition of wrong, it had been agreed that Derek Chauvin is serving his sentence in a federal prison rather than in the high security prison of the State, where he is currently detained in isolation to protect him other prisoners.

The other three agents, who remained passive during the Calvary of George Floyd, were found guilty in February before the federal justice, but their sentence has not yet been pronounced. The justice of the state also charged them for complicity in murder. One of them, Thomas Lane pleaded guilty and will be fixed on his sentence on September 21. The trial of the other two, Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng, must open on October 24.

/Media reports.