White former police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Thursday to serve 21 years in prison by federal justice for killing African-American George Floyd by suffocating him with his knee.
The former police officer, 46 years old, has already been sentenced to serve 22.5 years in prison by the justice in the state of Minnesota. He has appealed this decision.
The federal sentence for “violating the civil and civil rights” of the black man in his 40s is final, and it is the result of a plea deal that provided Mr. Chauvin with a guilty plea.
He will serve it concurrently with the other sentence, St. Paul District Court Judge Paul Magnuson said, adding to the seven months he has spent in custody.
“I don’t know why you did this, but putting your knee on someone’s neck until they die is wrong. And for that you should be severely punished,” the judge explained to the defendant.
During his brief placement, Derek Chauvin wished George Floyd’s children to “make it in life.” He did not apologize, nor did he express the slightest remorse.
His mother assured the court that he is not a racist at heart, before adding that “all lives matter, regardless of skin color”, apparently referring to the Black Lives Matter slogan and movement to counter this. black count”).
Philonise Floyd, brother of the deceased, who was called to testify from the bench, asked for “the heaviest sentence” to be imposed on Derek Chauvin, stressing that after the tragedy he cannot sleep.
Giant demonstrations
On May 25, 2020, the veteran Minneapolis police officer remained kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for about ten minutes, ignoring the angry comments of passers-by and eyewitnesses and his victim’s pleas to let him breathe.
The scene, which was filmed and uploaded to social networking sites, sparked massive protests against racism and police brutality in the US and many other countries around the world.
During the much-publicized trial in the state of Minnesota in the spring of 2021, the ex-policeman’s lawyer argued that George Floyd died of a drug overdose combined with other health problems and asserted that Derek Chauvin’s use of force was justified .
The court was not convinced. The former policeman was convicted of murder and sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison, pending a defense appeal.
At the same time, the federal judiciary was conducting its own investigation and prosecuted him, as well as three other former colleagues, for “violating the constitutional rights” of George Floyd, more specifically “the right not to be a victim of excessive and unreasonable violence by a police officer.” .
These “double” prosecutions are very rare in the US, but this one reflected the importance of the case, which reignited the already bitter and tense debate about the country’s racist past.
Acceptance of responsibility
In the federal trial, he initially pleaded not guilty, before changing his defense strategy in December 2021, accepting some responsibility for the first time.
In pleading guilty he admitted that he abused his right to use violence “knowing it was wrong” and “without legal justification”.
He also admitted to violating the rights of a 14-year-old black man in 2017, who he held pinned to the ground below his knee for a quarter of an hour.
The young man, John Pope, told yesterday’s hearing that “I hope he will use the time he has in front of him to think about how he could have acted differently”.
In exchange for his confession, it was agreed that Derek Chauvin would serve his sentence in a federal prison, rather than the state’s maximum security prison, where he is currently being held in solitary confinement for the protection of other inmates.
The remaining three police officers, who remained passive spectators during the martyrdom and death of George Floyd, were found guilty in February by federal justice, but have not yet been sentenced.
The state judiciary has also brought criminal charges against them for complicity in murder. One of them, Thomas Lane, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on September 21. The trial of the other two, Tu Tao and Alexander King, will begin on October 24.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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