Derek Chauvin to be sentenced for violating George Floyd's civil rights

A federal judge overseeing the federal civil rights cases of four former Minneapolis police officers in the killing of George Floyd said Wednesday that he has accepted the terms of Derek Chauvin's plea agreement and will sentence him to 20 to 25 years in prison.

Chauvin pleaded guilty Dec 15 to violating Floyd's civil rights, admitting for the first time that he kept his knee on Floyd's neck — even after he became unresponsive — resulting in the black man's death on May 25, 2020.

The white former officer admitted he willfully deprived Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including use of unreasonable force by a police officer.

Judge Paul Magnuson in Minnesota had waited to accept the plea until a pre-sentence report was completed.

Under the agreement, which Chauvin signed, both sides agreed he should face a sentence ranging from 20 to 25 years, with prosecutors saying they would seek 25 years. He could have faced life in prison on the federal count.

With credit for time served in the federal system, he would serve from 17 years to 21 years and three months behind bars.

"The defendant held his left knee across Mr. Floyd's neck, back, and shoulder, and his right knee on Mr. Floyd's back and arm," the plea agreement states.

"As Mr. Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, the defendant kept his knees on Floyd's neck and body, even after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive. This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of George Floyd," it adds.

In December's hearing, Chauvin voiced a desire to plead guilty, according to the terms of the deal his attorneys worked out with federal prosecutors, but the plea and the agreement weren't official until they were accepted by a judge.

In June 2021, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, among other charges, for Floyd's death, in a Minnesota state court. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison, though he is appealing that conviction. He would serve the federal sentence concurrently with the state sentence.

The federal plea deal means Chauvin will probably spend more time in prison than he faced under his state sentences. A Minnesota state prisoner usually serves a third of his sentence before being paroled, which could mean 15 years in prison for Chauvin, according to The Associated Press.

Chauvin was also charged with causing "bodily harm" to a 14-year-old, whose name hasn't been released, while serving as a police officer.

The incident occurred in 2017 when Chauvin, based on a mutually agreed statement of facts, grabbed the teenager by the throat, struck him multiple times on the head with a flashlight and restrained his neck in a way similar to what he did to Floyd.

Magnuson hasn't set a sentencing date for Chauvin or the other former police officers convicted in February on related federal civil rights charges. They are scheduled to stand trial in state court next month on charges of aiding and abetting Chauvin's murder of Floyd.