Yeah, libertarians aren’t happy with it either this evening although for a different reason than Jones. Jones thinks Chauvin should have done harder time. Justin Amash thinks Chauvin’s sentence is fine but that those convicted of less serious offenses than he was should be getting off much lighter:

22.5 years for murder while others face life sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. This isn’t justice.

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) June 25, 2021

Either way, they agree that it’s impossible to justify 22.5 years for Chauvin when nonviolent drug convicts are doing longer stretches in prison. Jones already had that yardstick in mind before sentencing was pronounced this afternoon:

In the Black community, we see BIG time for victimless crimes. Small time for #DerekChauvin will not be acceptable. pic.twitter.com/shgYtUcWzF

— Van Jones (@VanJones68) June 25, 2021

Afterward he was palpably disappointed:

#GeorgeFloyd's life was worth more than the sentence #DerekChauvin got.

I know people doing sentences longer than this for victimless crimes of drug possession.

With what #Chauvin did, it should have been the maximum of the maximum. pic.twitter.com/FlIKHwouNf

— Van Jones (@VanJones68) June 25, 2021

If I understand this explanation of the statutes correctly, the most Chauvin could have gotten was 30 years, which was what prosecutors were seeking. The statute allows for up to 40 for unintended second-degree murder but someone with no criminal record is looking at a maximum of 15 years under the state sentencing guidelines and typically gets 12.5. On the other hand, Elie Honig noted in the same CNN segment as Jones that Minnesota law permits a judge to double the sentence if even a single aggravating factor is found. The court in Chauvin’s case found *four.* And still, he didn’t get 30 years. I wonder if his service as a cop weighed in the judge’s mind as a reason to cut him some slack.

Does that mean Chauvin’s only going to do 14 years with good behavior? Not necessarily. Remember that he’s facing two federal indictments as well, one of which is unrelated to the Floyd case. The state’s going to try to keep him locked up forever, at least well into old age. But for the crime for which he’s infamous, George Floyd’s murder, it’s now a matter of record that he didn’t get the maximum.

Which was okay with some Dems. Keith Ellison, the attorney general of Minnesota, noted that a sentence of 22.5 years was “one of the longest a former police officer has ever received.” And the guy below seems pretty confident that justice was done. We’ll see if he ends up revisiting his opinion next week after he hears public complaints, mainly from the left, that Chauvin got off easy relative to what he put Floyd through.

Reporter: Do you have any reaction to Derek Chauvin being sentenced to 22.5 years in prison?

President Biden: "I don't know all of the circumstances that are considered, but it seems to me, under the guidelines, that seems to be appropriate." pic.twitter.com/LZkqpSqOHM

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 25, 2021