Chauvin was sentenced to 270 months in prison based on his “abuse of a position of trust” and the “particular cruelty shown to George Floyd”.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison for the murder of African-American man George Floyd.
In April, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after the death of Floyd in May 2020.
Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest as Floyd said “I can’t breathe.”
Footage of the incident then went viral with Floyd’s death sparking global protests against racial injustice and police mistreatment of Black people.
Judge Peter Cahill said the sentence was not based on “emotion or sympathy” but acknowledged the “deep and tremendous pain” of the families involved, especially the Floyd family.
“We need to recognise the pain of the Floyd family,” he said.
The judge also said he was not basing his sentence on public opinion or in any attempt to “send any messages”.
“The job of a trial court judge is to apply the law to specific facts and to deal with individual cases,” he added.
Chauvin was sentenced only on the most serious charge of second-degree murder, with the state’s sentencing guidelines recommending that he should face 12-and-a-half years.
However, the judge sentenced him to 270 months, equating to 22-and-a-half years, based on his “abuse of a position of trust” and the “particular cruelty shown to George Floyd”.
Floyd’s family had asked for the maximum punishment for Chauvin, which could have been up to 30 years.
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