(USA Today) A federal judge sentenced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights when he killed Floyd by pinning the unarmed Black man to the pavement with his knee for over nine minutes.
In December, Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights, admitting for the first time that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck — even after he became unresponsive — resulting in the Black man’s death on May 25, 2020. The white former officer admitted he willfully deprived Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including unreasonable force by a police officer.
Chauvin was also convicted in a separate case on state charges of murder and manslaughter and is already jailed.
The federal sentence adds a few years to the time Chauvin is already serving for his murder conviction.
Chauvin will now serve the new federal sentence in a federal prison, in addition to serving his state sentence there, based on the plea agreement.
The December plea agreement called for Chauvin to get a sentence of 20 to 25 years in Floyd’s killing. Federal prosecutors had sought the top end of that range, arguing that Chauvin killed Floyd in cold blood when he pinned him to the pavement outside a Minneapolis corner store for 9 1/2 minutes as Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson had asked for 20 years, arguing that Chauvin was remorseful and would make that clear to the court.
But the former Minneapolis police officer’s remarks included no direct apology or expression of remorse to Floyd’s family. Chauvin told George Floyd’s family that he “wishes all the best” for Floyd’s children during Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
