Derek Chauvin listens to the verdict which convicts him of the murder of George Floyd, in Minneapolis on April 20, 2021. – / AP / SIPA
He acted with “cruelty” and “abused his authority”. On Wednesday, Judge Cahill identified four aggravating factors against Derek Chauvin, convicted last month of the murder of George Floyd. A decision that paves the way for a sentence heavier than the maximum of 15 years recommended for unintentional 2nd degree murder by the Minnesota courts. The former police officer will be fixed on his fate on June 25, while his three former colleagues will be judged in August for complicity.
Minnesota justice operates with a sentencing grid system that magistrates must follow. For a 2nd degree murder, the theoretical maximum is 40 years in prison. But Derek Chauvin was convicted of the unintentional variant. And because he has no history, the grid recommends between 10 and 15 years in prison.
Probable maximum of 30 years
Prosecutors, however, lodged an appeal to recognize aggravating factors. Derek Chauvin had asked the judge – and not the jury who already found him guilty – to decide the issue. Judge Cahill retained four out of five: according to him, Derek Chauvin “abused his position of trust and authority”, “treated George Floyd with great cruelty”, acted in the presence of four minor witnesses and ” committed his crime in a meeting ”with his three other ex-colleagues, two of whom helped him immobilize George Floyd.
These aggravating factors will allow the judge, if he so decides, to deviate from the grid to pronounce a heavier sentence. In theory, up to the maximum of 40 years, but in practice, this is unlikely given the “unintentional” character. According to the lawyer Ted Sampsell-Jones, a law professor at Mitchell Hamline University in Minnesota, the ceiling is around 30 years. He believes that the judge should, except surprise, decide on a sentence “at the top of the range”, probably between 20 and 25 years. Which will have a two-thirds security period.