Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to an additional 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights — but it will be served concurrently with his state sentence.
Chauvin was already serving 22.5 years in state prison over his convictions for second and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.
The former police officer has spent the entire time in “administrative segregation,” which is essentially solitary confinement, for his own safety.
In December, Chauvin pleaded guilty to depriving Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure. His lawyers had requested a 20 year sentence, while the prosecution requested 25.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson argued during the hearing on Thursday that his client is not a threat for repeat offending and will never again work as a police officer.
Philonise Floyd, the deceased’s brother, also spoke and asked for the judge to give Chauvin the maximum sentence.
”The (Floyd) family and I have been given a life sentence, we will never get George back,” the brother said. He also spoke about his niece, saying that George “will never be able to walk her down the aisle, take her to a daddy daughter dance.”
During the sentencing, Chauvin addressed Floyd’s children and said that he wishes them all the best in life.
Chauvin will now be moved out of the state prison he is currently housed in to a federal prison — which is expected to be much safer for him.
According to an explainer from the Associated Press, “inmates qualify for parole earlier in the Minnesota prison system than they do in the federal system, so the agreement means Chauvin will spend at least a couple more years behind bars than he would have for the state murder conviction alone. But it avoids the life sentence he faced on the federal charges, and gives him the potential for a safer environment with a bit more freedom.”
Chauvin was convicted on state murder and manslaughter charges for pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck, resulting in his death by asphyxiation, on May 25, 2020.
It will now be up to the US Bureau of Prisons to decide what facility Chauvin will be moved to.
