Prosecutors requested a judge to sentence Derek Chauvin to 30 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
Chauvin had the audacity to ask for probation citing the “lack” of a previous criminal record, his work as a police officer, and his safety.
Last month, Judge Peter Cahill found “aggravating factors” exist that will allow him to sentence Chauvin to more than 15 years as suggested by the Minnesota sentencing guideline.
“His actions traumatized Mr. Floyd’s family, the bystanders who watched Mr. Floyd die, and the community. And his conduct shocked the Nation’s conscience,” the prosecution’s memo read. “No sentence can undo the damage [Chauvin’s] actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must hold [Chauvin] fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct.”
The prosecutors and judge agree that four factors exist: Chauvin committed a crime in front of a child, that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty, that he acted as part of a group, and that he abused his position of trust and authority as a police officer.
The judge ruled that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty because he ignoring Floyd’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe. Floyd was “begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die” but Chauvin “objectively remained indifferent to Floyd’s pleas,” Cahill wrote.
Chauvin was convicted on April 21 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.
Do you agree with prosecutors at thinking the crimes Derek Chauvin committed call for a 30-year sentence?
