Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes last May, will soon learn his fate, after the jury in his politically explosive murder trial told the judge it had reached a verdict.
Chauvin, 45, was charged with second- and third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man accused of passing a counterfeit bill at a convenience store.
While the maximum prison sentence for murder 2 under Minnesota law is 40 years, he would probably face at most 12 1/2 years if convicted, given state sentencing guidelines.
The jury got the case on April 19 following three weeks of emotional and sometimes graphic testimony from medical experts, family members and anguished bystanders.
Chauvin, who is White, was captured in a viral video pinning Floyd chest down to the pavement, even as Floyd repeatedly cried out, “I can’t breathe.”
That sent millions of outraged Americans of all races into the streets to protest police violence against people of color. The state argued that Chauvin was a bad cop who violated the department’s stated mission to serve with courage and compassion.
The defense said cardiovascular problems and drug use had played a significant role in Floyd’s death and that Chauvin used reasonable force to detain an actively resisting suspect.
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