Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on Tuesday on all charges of killing George Floyd, whose murder caused worldwide protests and a settlement of race in the US. After about a day of deliberation, the jury found Chauvin guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Judge Peter Cahill read the verdict in the heavily-secured Hennepin County government center in downtown Minneapolis, where the trial began last month. A cheer could be heard from the crowd of peaceful protesters who had gathered outside.
Chauvin showed little reaction after the verdict was announced. Judge Cahill announced that his bail had been revoked and Chauvin had been led away in handcuffs.
Cahill said sentencing would take place in about eight weeks.
The jury – consisting of six white people, four black people and two multiracial people – heard 13 days of sometimes emotional testimony. The jury was sequestered during hearings, but was not sequestered during the earlier part of the trial.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Steve Schleicher urged jurors to focus on the video showing Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
“Believe your eyes,” Schleicher said. ‘Unreasonable force that pinned him to the ground. That’s what killed him. It was a murder. ‘
Schleicher said Chauvin shows “indifference” to Floyd’s pleas for help and still holds the man in check even after he did not respond, ignoring bystanders who urged him to relax.
“This case is exactly what you thought when you first saw it – when you first saw the video,” he said. “It’s exactly that. It’s exactly what you saw with your eyes. It’s exactly what you knew. It’s exactly what you felt in your gut. It’s what you now know in your heart. It was not policing. no, it was murder. “
In his closing argument, attorney Eric Nelson said the state had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and could not succeed in showing how Floyd died.
He said that although the state had called a series of experts to testify that asphyxia was the cause of Floyd’s death, it ‘flew in the light of reason and common sense’ to indicate that Floyd’s drug use and heart disease does not play a role, Nelson said.
Nelson argued that a combination of Floyd’s underlying heart disease, adrenaline and the fentanyl and methamphetamine he ingested before the arrest was a fatal combination. He calls the case ‘tragic’, but says it is an example of ‘officers doing their job in a very stressful situation’.
In Minnesota, second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Third-degree murder is up to 25 years in prison. Second-degree manslaughter is up to ten years in prison.
But sentencing guidelines recommend less time for offenders without criminal history.
In that case, the proposed sentence range for unintended second-degree murder and third-degree murder is the same – from just over ten and a half years to 15 years in prison. The recommended median sentence is 12 and a half years – the same sentence handed over to Mohamed Noor in 2019, a former Minneapolis police officer convicted of third-degree murder for firing a shot from his squad car and killing a woman who called 911.
Someone convicted of manslaughter without second-degree crime would probably be jailed for about four years.
In the Chauvin case, prosecutors have introduced a series of “aggravating factors” that could give Chauvin’s sentence extra time. These include committing a crime in front of a child – the youngest bystander who saw Floyd’s fatal arrest was 9 years old – and using police authority to commit a crime.
The other three officers involved are charged with providing assistance and are expected to be tried jointly in August.