A panel of jurors has found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on three charges in connection with the death of George Floyd after months of the most closely watched criminal trials since the O.J. Simpson case.
Chauvin has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. With the entire nation on edge as we awaited the verdict, the jury announced that it has found him guilty on all three counts.
His bail was immediately revoked and he was escorted out of the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back. Cheers and cars honking could be heard outside the Hennepin County Courthouse as the verdict was announced.
Chauvin’s sentencing is scheduled for about two months from now, the judge said and he could be sent to prison for decades.
It took the jury about 10 hours and 20 minutes to reach a decision, which was read late in the afternoon in a city on edge regarding the possibility of more unrest like that that erupted last spring.
The courthouse was ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire, and thousands of National Guard troops and law enforcement officers were brought in ahead of the verdict. Some businesses were boarded up with plywood.
The jury was made up of seven women and five men. Six jurors were White, four were Black and two identified as multiracial. Jurors were sequestered, their whereabouts kept secret, during deliberations that began Monday afternoon.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin held his knee against his neck or upper body for nine minutes and 29 seconds, as a handcuffed Floyd repeatedly said that he could not breathe.
It was May 25, 2020 (330 days ago) when George Floyd was killed. Close to a year ago. After a 16 day trial, the jury deliberated for just 11 hours before reaching a verdict.
— Emma Goss (@EmmaAudreyGoss) April 20, 2021
During the months-long trial, the jury heard from many high-ranking Minneapolis police officials as well as loved ones of Floyd, bystanders, an officer who also responded to the scene, and medical experts — some of whom presented opposing opinions.
The case came down to two important questions: whether Chauvin’s actions caused Floyd’s death and whether those actions were reasonable. Each individual charge required a different element of proof as to Chauvin’s state of mind.
