Federal Judge Accepts Derek Chauvin Plea Deal of 20-25 Years in Prison

Former police officer Derek Chauvin, the man who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, will receive 20 to 25 years in prison.

The decision comes after U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, who is overseeing the federal civil rights cases of the four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death, officially accepted the plea deal Chauvin was offered, according to NPR.

On Dec. 15, Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights. He admitted that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, even after he stopped moving, which resulted in the Black man’s death on May 25, 2020. He admitted to willfully depriving Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including unreasonable force by a police officer.

Chauvin also pleaded guilty to another civil rights violation stemming from an unrelated 2017 case involving a then-14-year-old boy. Chauvin held the teenager by the throat and hit him in the head with a flashlight, the Associated Press reported. In that case, Chauvin also placed his knee on the boy’s neck and upper back while the teen was handcuffed and not resisting.

Originally, Chauvin had pleaded not guilty back in September. Last April, Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd with a deadly knee to the neck while Floyd lay handcuffed on the ground. In June, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Last month, Chauvin appealed his conviction and sentence for the murder of Floyd, arguing that the judge in his case abused his discretion and made multiple errors during the trial.

In the appeal filed in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, his attorneys brought up 14 separate issues, including Judge Peter Cahill‘s decision to deny Chauvin’s request to move the trial out of Hennepin County because of the intense pretrial publicity.

“The overwhelming media coverage exposed the jurors—literally every day—to news demonizing Chauvin and glorifying Floyd which was more than sufficient to presume prejudice,” the appeal said.

The two sentences would run concurrently.