Join News Views for a Live a Discussion on the sentencing of the murderous thug, Derek Chauvin. In April, a jury convicted Chauvin on three charges in Floyd’s death: unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
From Court TV:
Because all three convictions arose from what Minnesota law calls a “single behavioral incident,” Judge Peter Cahill will issue a sentence only on the top charge of unintentional second-degree murder. Under Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, the harshest penalty for unintentional second-degree murder is 40 years in state custody. But for someone with no criminal record, like Chauvin, it carries a presumptive sentence of 12.5 years and a discretionary range of 10 to 15 years.
Minnesota AG’s office has requested 30 years behind bars for the former police officer based on four aggravating sentencing factors:
- Chauvin abused a position of authority
- Floyd was treated with particular cruelty
- Chauvin committed the crime with the active participation of at least three others (former officers and co-defendants Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng)
- The crime was committed in the presence of multiple children (the four bystander witnesses who were under 18 when they witnessed Floyd’s death)