A judge has rejected former
Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s request for a new trial in George
Floyd’s death.
Judge Peter Cahill denied the request Friday, saying defense attorney Eric
Nelson has not shown that abused its discretion and denied Chauvin the right to
a fair trial.
Chauvin, 45, pinned Floyd to a Minneapolis street for about 9 1/2 minutes
on May 25, 2020, ignoring the Black man’s cries of “I can’t breathe” and the
shouts of onlookers. Bystander video of Floyd’s death sparked protests in
Minneapolis, some violent, and quickly spread around the world.
THe former officer is set to be sentenced Friday.
Chauvin faces decades in prison, with several legal experts
predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. He also still faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along with
three other fired officers who have yet to have their state trials.
The concrete barricades, razor wire and National Guard patrols that
shrouded the county courthouse for Chauvin's three-week trial are gone, and so
is most of the tension in the city as it awaited a verdict in April. Still,
there's a recognition that Chauvin's sentencing will be another major step
forward for a city that has been on edge since Floyd's death on May 25, 2020.
“Between the incident, the video, the riots, the trial - this is the
pinnacle of it,” Mike Brandt, a local defense attorney who has closely followed
Chauvin's case, said. “The verdict was huge too, but this is where the justice
comes down.”
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree
murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s
neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe and went
limp. Bystander video of Floyd's arrest for suspicion of passing a counterfeit
$20 bill prompted protests around the world and a nationwide reckoning on race
and police brutality.
Under Minnesota
statutes, Chauvin will be sentenced only on the most serious charge, which has
a maximum sentence of 40 years. But case law dictates that a 30-year sentence
would be the practical maximum sentence Judge Peter Cahill could impose without
risk of being overturned on appeal.
Prosecutors asked for 30 years, saying Chauvin’s actions were egregious
and “shocked the nation’s conscience.” Defense attorney Eric Nelson requested
probation, saying Chauvin was the product of a “broken” system and “believed he
was doing his job.”
Cahill has already found that aggravating factors in Floyd’s death warrant
going higher than the 12 1/2-year sentence recommended by the state's
sentencing guidelines. The judge found Chauvin abused his position of
authority, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, and that the crime was seen
by several children. He also wrote that Chauvin knew the restraint of Floyd was
dangerous.
“The prolonged use of this technique was particularly egregious in that
George Floyd made it clear he was unable to breathe and expressed the view that
he was dying as a result of the officers’ restraint,” Cahill wrote last month.
Attorneys on both sides are expected to make brief arguments Friday.
Floyd's family members - including his brother Philonise, his brother Terrence
and his nephew Brandon Williams - will give statements in court.
Ben Crump, an attorney who has represented Floyd’s family, said family
members were feeling “anxious and tense” ahead of the sentencing.
“To us, George Floyd is a cause. He’s a case; he’s a hashtag. To them --
that’s their flesh and blood. You know, that that’s their brother,” Crump said.
Chauvin can also make a statement, but it’s not clear if he will. Experts
say it could be tricky for Chauvin to talk without implicating himself in the
pending federal case accusing him of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Chauvin chose not to testify at his trial. The only explanation the public
has heard from him came from body-camera footage in which he told a bystander
at the scene: “We got to control this guy ’cause he’s a sizable guy ... and it
looks like he’s probably on something.”
Several experts said they doubted Chauvin would take the risk and speak,
but Brandt thought he would. He said Chauvin could say a few words without
getting himself into legal trouble.
“I think it's his chance to tell the world, 'I didn't intend to kill
him,'” Brandt said. "If I was him, I think I would want to try and let
people know that I’m not a monster.”
Several people interviewed in Minneapolis days before Chauvin's sentencing
said they want to see a tough sentence.
Thirty years “doesn't seem like long enough to me,” said Andrew Harer, a
retail worker who is white. “I would be fine if he was in jail for the rest of
his life.”
Joseph Allen, 31, who is Black, said he thinks Chauvin should receive “at
least” 30 years, and said he'd prefer a life sentence. He cited nearly 20
complaints filed against the now-fired officer during his career.
Allen said he hopes other police officers can learn “not to do what Derek
Chauvin did.”
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and activist, called for
Chauvin to be sentenced “to the fullest extent of the law." She called
Floyd's death “a modern day lynching” and predicted community outrage if
Chauvin is sentenced lightly.
When asked if she would like to hear Chauvin speak, Levy Armstrong said:
“For me as a Black woman living in this community, there’s really nothing that
he could say that would alleviate the pain and trauma that he caused ... I
think that if he spoke it would be disingenuous and could cause more trauma."
Crump also said he wanted to see a sentence above what is typically given
for a second-degree murder conviction.
“There was nothing typical about what Derek Chauvin did in torturing
George Floyd to death,” Crump said. “So we don’t expect it to be a typical
sentence. It needs to be a sentence that sets a new precedent for holding
police officers accountable for the unjustifiable killings of Black people in
America.”
No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, he's likely to serve only about
two-thirds behind bars presuming good behavior. The rest would be on supervised
release.
He's been held since his conviction at the state's only maximum security
prison, in Oak Park Heights. The former officer is held away from the general
population for his safety, in a 10-by-10-foot cell, with meals brought to his
room. He is allowed out for solitary exercise for an hour a day.
It's not clear if Chauvin will remain there. State prisons officials said
that decision wouldn't be made until after Cahill's formal sentencing order.
Chauvin and the three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest are
awaiting trial in federal court on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
No trial date has been set.
The three other officers are also scheduled for trial in March on state
charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter.
(Written by Associated Press writers Amy Forlitti and Steve Karnowski.
Associate Press writers Stephen Groves and Mohamed Ibrahim contributed to the
report.)