Officer in 'Floyd Killing' Pleads Guilty... Likely to Face 25-Year Sentence

Derek Chauvin, perpetrator in the death of George Floyd
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The perpetrator in the death of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide 'Black Lives Matter (BLM)' protests across the United States last year, has pleaded guilty in court for the first time.

According to the New York Times and others on the 15th (local time), former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin admitted to the charges during his trial held at the federal court in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Chauvin was tried for pressing his knee on the neck of Floyd, a Black man who was unarmed, for nine minutes during the arrest for attempting to buy cigarettes with counterfeit money in May last year, which led to Floyd's death.

He admitted that his actions causing Floyd's death were wrong and that he "coldly and deliberately disregarded" Floyd's life. He also acknowledged that Floyd was not resisting, showed no speech or movement, had stopped breathing, and was unconscious at the time.

The Hennepin County jury in Minnesota unanimously found Chauvin guilty on all charges, including second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder, on April 20. Two months later, the Hennepin County District Court sentenced Chauvin to 22 years and 6 months in prison.

Chauvin, who had maintained his innocence, appealed claiming the trial court abused its discretion and he did not receive a fair trial. However, before the appeal trial began, he changed his stance and admitted to deliberately depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights not to be unlawfully detained by the police.

Separately from the Floyd case, Chauvin also admitted to excessive use of force in 2017 when subduing a 14-year-old Black boy. Major foreign media explained that this was the result of a plea bargain with the prosecution to avoid a situation where the sentence could increase to life imprisonment in the second trial.

As a result of the negotiation, both sides agreed on a sentencing range of 20 to 25 years in prison, but the prosecution plans to seek the maximum sentence of 25 years within the agreed range. The Associated Press forecasted, "Under Minnesota state law, inmates must serve two-thirds of their sentence before being eligible for parole, so Chauvin will have to serve at least 15 years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.