Derek Chauvin gets 22.5 years in prison for George Floyd's murder

Derek Chauvin was charged with killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, which was captured on video footage in May 2020 and triggered nationwide demonstrations for racial justice. 

Washington: Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer convicted for murdering George Floyd last year, has been sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. According to CNN, prosecutors had asked for a 30-year sentence, and Chauvin`s attorney asked for probation and time served. However, Chauvin has no prior criminal record. The judge was given the discretion to hand down a sentence between 10 years and eight months and 15 years for each. Judge Peter A Cahill said before sentencing Chauvin that his sentence will not be based on emotion, according to the New York Times."But at the same time," he said, "I want to acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all of the families are feeling, especially the Floyd family. "Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He faced up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder and up to 10 years for manslaughter. Speaking briefly in the court, Chauvin gave his condolences to Floyd`s family."I want to give my condolences to the Floyd family... There`s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope things will give you some peace of mind," he said.