Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22.5 years for George Floyd's murder

The state wanted 30 years. The court could have gone as low as 10 years and 8 months under Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, although the typical sentence for unintentional second-degree murder for someone with no criminal record would be 12.5 years.

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Why’d Chauvin end up with an extra 10 tacked on? The judge explained in a sentencing memo issued this afternoon. The prosecution argued that the facts of the case proved five aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. The court disagreed on one of those, that Floyd was “particularly vulnerable,” but agreed on the other four.

An interesting factoid via the Times: Among the 11 state or local cops convicted of murder while on-duty since 2005, the average sentence is 21.7 years. Chauvin ended up getting nearly exactly that amount, especially since the judge granted time served for the 199 days he’s already been behind bars.

The sentencing hearing was emotional for both the prosecution and the defense. Several members of the Floyd family spoke and George Floyd’s young daughter appeared in a gut-wrenching video:

Chauvin’s mother was raw as well in his defense:

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And finally the defendant himself spoke, a bit elliptically. Chauvin couldn’t say much publicly since he’s still facing federal civil-rights charges and any statement of regret here might be used against him there, but he did tell the Floyd family that “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.”

What’s that mean?

I’ll leave you with the judge issuing his sentence. Chauvin won’t be eligible for parole until 2035 at the earliest.

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David Strom 5:20 PM | April 19, 2024
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