Derek Chauvin To Be Sentenced Today

Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer, who knelt on George Floyd’s neck until he died, will be sentenced today, Friday.

Gatekeepers News reports that he will be sentenced for the second-degree murder conviction he received on April 20.

Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges; second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and Minnesota law stipulate that he will only be given a sentence for the severest of the three because they all arise out of the same behaviour.

There are statewide sentencing guidelines in Minnesota that determine what are called “presumptive sentences” which offer guidelines for two decisions, whether to send someone to prison and for how long.

In Chauvin’s case, because he has no criminal history of convictions, his presumptive sentence is a prison term between more than 10 and a half years and 15 years.

However, four aggravated sentencing factors have been found in this case; that Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, abused his position of power as a police officer, killed him with the active participation of three or more other people, and did so in front of minors.

“The slow death of George Floyd occurring over approximately six minutes of his positional asphyxia was particularly cruel in that Mr Floyd was begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die,” Judge Peter Cahill wrote of the cruelty factor in his ruling.

“The defendant objectively remained indifferent to Mr Floyd’s pleas.”

Gatekeepers News reports that once the sentence is handed down, Chauvin can appeal.