A year and a month after the death of George Floyd, which shocked America and the world, the hour of sentence has come for Derek Chauvin. The ex-police officer, convicted of a 2nd degree murder last April, risks a maximum of 30 years in prison. Judge Cahill, who found aggravating circumstances, will announce the sentence during a hearing which is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. Paris time). It is not known if Derek Chauvin will speak but George Floyd’s family should do so with “impact statements”, statements from relatives of a victim before the announcement of a sentence.
Minnesota justice operates with a scale system, which takes into account the seriousness of the crime but also the history of the accused. Because Derek Chauvin has no history, and the murder was unintentional, the grid provides for a sentence of between 10 and 15 years in prison. But Judge Cahill retained four aggravating factors, which opened the door to a much heavier sentence. The prosecutor requested 30 years of imprisonment, while the lawyer for the ex-police officer, Eric Nelson, pleaded “a mistake in good faith” and asked for a reduced sentence to the time already served, which would allow the remission. immediate freedom of the police officer.
Cancellation request
The policeman “abused his position of trust and authority”, “treated George Floyd with great cruelty”, acted in the presence of minors and “committed his crime in a meeting”, wrote the magistrate upstream of the hearing, suggesting a sentence at the top of the range, which should logically be between 20 and 30 years. Minnesota has adopted a two-thirds safety period system, from which an inmate is eligible for parole.
Whatever the decision, it will be the subject of an appeal, Me Nelson having already indicated his intention to request the annulment of the verdict, in particular because of doubts about the impartiality of a juror who failed to reveal his participation. to a march in homage to George Floyd and against police violence.
The judicial file will not stop there: the three colleagues of Derek Chauvin will be tried in March 2022 for “complicity in murder” by the justice of Minnesota. In parallel, the four men will also face a trial in federal justice which indicted them for “violation of the constitutional rights” of George Floyd. No date has yet been set.