Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
The former Minneapolis police officer was convicted in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd last May. Judge Peter A. Cahill of Hennepin County District Court delivered his sentence earlier this afternoon.
Chauvin faced a maximum of 40 years behind bars for the second-degree murder charge — the most serious of the three — with guidelines recommending a presumptive sentence of 12 and a half years for someone without criminal history. The New York Times reports that in recent weeks, Judge Cahill had ruled that four “aggravating factors” were applicable in the case, including that Chauvin “had acted with particular cruelty” and had abused his position of power, which factored into the additional 10 years on the presumptive recommendation.
Prosecutors in the case had asked for Chauvin to be sentenced to 30 years, while his defense lawyers requested he receive probation and time served.
Chauvin, who did not take the stand during his trial, spoke briefly at the sentencing to express his condolences to the Floyd family.
The sentencing evoked a mixed reaction from Floyd’s family and supporters. “The sentence handed down today to the Minneapolis police officer who killed my brother George Floyd shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously,” said Floyd’s sister, Bridgett, in a statement following the sentencing. “However, we have a long way to go and many changes to make before Black and Brown people finally feel like they are being treated fairly and humanely by law enforcement in this country.”
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