June 3, 2021 7:42 AM | With information from EFE
15 minutes. Prosecutors in the case requested a 30-year prison sentence for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis (Minnesota) policeman convicted of the murder of African-American George Floyd, a crime that has just completed one year.
Floyd passed away on May 25, 2020 during his detention, asphyxiated by the former agent, who was tried and is awaiting conviction after being convicted of murder and manslaughter by Judge Peter Cahill.
In their request for sentencing brief filed Wednesday for Chauvin, prosecutors cited the trial judge’s ruling. There they alleged that there were 4 aggravating factors in Floyd’s murder, NBC reported.
Aggravating
Cahill explained that prosecutors showed that Chauvin abused his position of trust and authority, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, performed in concert with at least 3 other people, and committed the crime in the presence of children.
That ruling paved the way for Cahill to sentence Chauvin to more than 15 years in prison. This is the longest punishment for second degree murder under current law in the state of Minnesota.
Prosecutors said in their brief that in Chauvin’s judgment “the Court should take the next step and hold that each of these aggravating factors” is reason for imposing a sentence 2 times greater than the upper limit of the presumed sentence range.
Floyd’s death was captured on video by a 17-year-old bystander, who testified at Chauvin’s trial. The video sparked international protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the US.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson asked in a separate brief – which he filed Wednesday – for a reduced sentence or the imposition of a probation system.
I could die young
Nelson argued that, among other things, Chauvin obeyed all court orders after posting bail. In addition, he was released before the trial.
The lawyer also stated that Chauvin “has been preliminarily diagnosed with heart damage”. You could die at a younger age, like many former law enforcement officers.
Chauvin was found guilty of all 3 charges he faced. Namely involuntary murder in the second degree, punishable by up to 40 years in prison; murder in the third degree, with a maximum sentence of 25 years; and second degree involuntary manslaughter, which carries up to 10 years of deprivation of liberty.
Since he has no criminal record, could only be sentenced to a maximum of 12 and a half years in prison for each of the first 2 charges and 4 years in prison for the third. The reading of his sentence was scheduled for June 25.
Legal experts consulted by NBC agreed that it is unlikely that Chauvin will be sentenced to more than 30 years.
