Former Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Friday to 270 months, or 22.5 years in prison.
In April, Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Earlier Friday, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill heard impact statements from Floyd’s family, including his seven-year-old daughter, who gave a heartbreaking statement about how much she misses her dad.
“I ask about him all the time,” Gianna said via video. “I want to play with him, have fun, go on a plane ride.”
Watch: George Floyd’s Brother Philonise Tearfully Asks Judge To Give Chauvin ‘Maximum Sentence’ pic.twitter.com/95KhKpDfT4
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) June 25, 2021
Cahill also heard from Chauvin’s mother, who did not speak at all about Floyd or his family’s grief, but tried to paint her son as being a victim of a false media narrative, as well as from Chauvin’s attorney, who urged the judge not to be swayed by “public opinion.”
When Cahill issued Chauvin’s sentence, he insisted he wasn’t being influenced by public opinion or by emotion, but by the law. And while the 22.5-year sentence is more than the state’s sentencing guidelines for offenders without prior felony convictions and also “one of the longest a former police officer has ever received for an unlawful use of deadly force,” according to MN Attorney General Keith Ellison, it is far less than the 30 years prosecutors and Floyd’s family were pushing for.
Even for those generally opposed to America’s overly severe prison sentences, the double standard in the judicial system is on full display here, and completely infuriating.
A conviction for counterfeit money carries up to 20 years in prison and a fine.
Derek Chauvin got 20 years for killing George Floyd who was suspected of having a counterfeit $20
— Anthony V. Clark (@anthonyvclark20) June 25, 2021
Derek Chauvin was just sentenced to 270 months (22.5 years) for the murder of George Floyd.
As a public defender, I represented a man who was facing life in prison for stealing a jacket.
— Eliza Orlins (@elizaorlins) June 25, 2021
Please never forget that Chauvin is going to prison today not because the legal system works but because Darnella Frazier captured video that prevented the city of Minneapolis from engaging in a cover up.
— DEFUND & ABOLISH POLICE, REFUND OUR COMMUNITIES (@BreeNewsome) June 25, 2021
Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
Before his conviction, he was was the subject of at least 22 complaints or internal investigations during his more than 19 years at the department. https://t.co/o3SRXFTZ34
— The Marshall Project (@MarshallProj) June 25, 2021
Countless Black people have been sentenced to life for non-violent offenses and Derek Chauvin got 22.5 years for one of the most polarizing murders in history. Again, there are two judicial systems.
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) June 25, 2021
Like. I’m seeing a lot of tweets from white ppl that are like “that isn’t enough.”
It isn’t.
It never will be.
Now take that frustration and channel it into listening to us when we tell you what can be done to prevent this from happening again.
— Bri’s Pride Month Agenda @ The Mary Sue (@BrichibiTweets) June 25, 2021
When given an opportunity to speak for himself, Chauvin offered this bizarre, brief statement: “Due to legal matters, I’m not able to give a full formal statement … I give my condolences to the Floyd family, there’s gonna be some other information in the future that will be of interest and I hope these will give you some peace of mind.”
Judge Cahill chose to keep his comments from the bench brief and instead issue a 22-page written statement, which you can read here if you’d like to understand his reasons for the sentence. This is the conclusion he wrote, summing up why he went so far beyond the state’s recommended sentence of 12.5 years:
Part of the mission of the Minneapolis Police Department is to give citizens “voice and respect.” Here, Mr. Chauvin, rather than pursuing the MPD mission, treated Mr. Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings and which he certainly would have extended to a friend or neighbor. In the Court’s view, 270 months, which amounts to an additional ten years over the presumptive 150-month sentence, is the appropriate sentence.
(image: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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