Derek Chauvin said he 'wishes all the best' for George Floyd's children before being sentenced to 21 years in prison on federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights
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- Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison on Thursday.
- Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights.
- The Thursday sentence is in addition to the 22.5 years Chauvin received on state murder charges.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in federal prison, after pleading guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights.
That's in addition to the 22.5-year sentence that Chauvin received after a jury convicted the 46-year-old on state murder and manslaughter charges in June 2021.
Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes during a May 2020 arrest that led to Floyd's death. Floyd was suspected of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill, a misdemeanor.
As part of Chauvin's federal plea deal, he will be moved to a federal prison to serve both his federal and state sentences simultaneously.
On Thursday US District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson gave Chauvin credit for about seven months served, meaning he has a little more than 20 years left to served, local reporter Gordon Severson of KARE reported. He will have to serve a minimum of 17 years in prison before he is eligible for parole, according to the plea deal.
"I really don't know why you did what you did, but kneeling on someone until they expire is simply wrong and for that you will be punished," Magnuson said, according to Severson.
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The judge handed down his sentence after Chauvin himself was allowed to address the court, during which he said he "wishes all the best" for Floyd's children, the Associated Press reported.
George Floyd's girlfriend, Courtney Ross, also gtave an impact statement, KARE's Severson reported.
"Mr. Chauvin I do not hate you. I am still working to forgive you," Ross said.
Chauvin's mother was also allowed to address the court, and spoke about how she felt her son "is not a racist" and her feeling that he had been abandoned by the Minneapolis Police Department, according to Severson.
The plea deal also included Chauvin admitting to guilt in connection to a 2017 incident where he repeatedly struck and knelt on the neck and upper back of a 14-year-old boy for several minutes.
In a court filing last month, federal prosecutors asked US District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson to sentence Chauvin to 25 years in prison, in part due to this pattern of behavior. They called Chauvin's actions towards Floyd "cold-blooded" and said a long sentence would send a message to other police officers that it's not part of their job to impose punishment.
Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, asked the judge for a sentence of no more than 20 years, saying in a court filing that Chauvin expressed remorse and would "continue to atone for his wrongdoing."
Floyd's death reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and led to a summer of protests across the country, with protesters pushing for widespread police reform.
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP
Three other officers were present for Floyd's arrest, and were convicted in federal court earlier this year of violating Floyd's rights. They are yet to be sentenced on those convictions. All four officers lost their jobs with the MPD after Floyd's death.
Former officer Thomas Lane awaits sentencing in his Minnesota state case, after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in May.
The two other former officers — Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng — are set to go to trial in January on their state charges after refusing to take plea deals.