Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck.
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police Officer, has been sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. Floyd’s dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee sparked the biggest movement against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States.
The punishment pronounced for Chauvin fell short of the 30 years that prosecutors had requested.
The 45-year-old cop, with good behaviour, could be paroled after serving two-thirds of his sentence, or about 15 years.
As he faced sentencing for the murder of George Floyd, Chauvin on Friday broke his long courtroom silence, offering condolences to Floyd’s family and saying he hopes more information coming out will give them “some peace of mind.”
“But very briefly, though, I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family. There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest. And I hope things will give you some peace of mind,” he said, without elaborating.
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for up to 9 1/2 minutes as the 46-year-old Black man gasped that he couldn’t breathe and went limp.
After Floyd’s arrest, a bystander had shot the video of treatment meted out to him by cops on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a corner store. The cruelty seen in the video anguished many, prompting ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests across the world and led to scattered violence in Minneapolis and other parts of the US.
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