Former American policeman Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison by a Minneapolis court for the murder of George Floyd. This murder rocked the US last year in May and triggered the #BlackLivesMatter Movement.
A video of police brutality that caused the death of Floyd was circulated on social media. It caused an uproar and global outrage and made people protest against this inhumane act.
The video shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over eight and a half minutes as Floyd struggled to breathe and kept pleading that he could not breathe. Chauvin was arrested on May 29 2020 and charged with murder.
Twelve jurors found Chauvin guilty of all charges against him and sentenced him to 22.5 years in prison. According to Judge Peter Cahill,the sentence went beyond the 12.5 year sentence as Chauvin had abused his position of authority and trust and was guilty of cruelty. In fact the prosecutors requested a 30 year sentence for Chauvin.
US President Joe Biden who was in communication with the Floyd family felt that the sentence imposed on Chauvin seemed appropriate. However Floyd’s brother Terrence expressed his dissatisfaction with the sentence handed to Chauvin.
