ST. PAUL, Minn. — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Derek Chauvin to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, telling the former Minneapolis police officer that what he did was “simply wrong” and “offensive.”
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sharply condemned Chauvin’s May 25, 2020 actions of holding Floyd on the sidewalk outside a Minneapolis corner grocery for nine minutes, as Floyd lay dying.
“I really don’t know why you did what you did,” Magnuson said. “To put your knee on a person’s neck until they expired is simply wrong. … Your conduct is wrong and it is offensive.”
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Magnuson was the one who presided at the trial of Chauvin and three others officers involved in the incident earlier in the year. Chauvin was, by far, the highest ranking officer on the scene. He refused questions from an officer about Floyd being turned on his behalf.
“You absolutely destroyed the lives of three young officers by taking command of the scene,” he said.
Even so, Magnuson’s sentence was at the low end of the 20 to 25 years called for in a plea agreement in which he will serve the federal sentence at the same time he serves his 22 1/2-year sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter.
Continue reading: Two Years After George Floyd’s Murder, Minneapolis Is Still Struggling to Redefine Policing
Chauvin’s federal parole eligibility is different than the state. This means Chauvin will spend slightly longer behind bars than the sentence he received on his state sentence. The federal system will be where Chauvin may also be safe and can be subject to fewer restrictions that the state.
Eric Nelson, Chauvin lawyer, asked for 20 years. He claimed that Chauvin is remorseful. But Chauvin, in brief remarks, made no direct apology or expression of remorse to Floyd’s family.
Instead, he told the family that he wishes Floyd’s children “all the best in their life” and that they have “excellent guidance in becoming good adults.”
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