The jury in Minneapolis has ruled to convict former white officer Derek Chauvin on all charges related to the killing of African American George Floyd, which sparked a wave of protests in the United States and around the world. Many Americans celebrated Chauvin's conviction, and President Joe Biden noted it as "a huge step toward achieving justice."
On Tuesday, the Minneapolis court sentenced former white officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, an African American citizen, an incident that shook the U.S. for a year and highlighted deep racial divides in American society. The racially diverse jury, consisting of seven women and five men, took less than 11 hours to reach a unanimous verdict of guilty on all three charges: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter.
Following the announcement of the verdict, shouts of celebration erupted outside the heavily guarded courthouse in downtown Minneapolis after a three-week trial. After Judge Peter Cahill read the jury's decision, police officers cuffed Chauvin, who had been free on bail, and took him out of the courtroom without any visible signs of emotion, while Philonis Floyd, one of George Floyd's brothers, embraced the prosecutors.
Derek Chauvin, 45, faces a maximum prison sentence of 40 years for the most serious charge of second-degree murder. Sentencing will occur at a later date. Chauvin was seen in a video on May 25, 2020, kneeling on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while the 46-year-old man lay face down on the street, repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe."
This footage, shown multiple times during the ongoing trial, sparked worldwide protests against the absence of racial justice and police brutality. President Biden expressed his "relief" to George Floyd's family during a phone call on Tuesday, stating that the decision was "extremely important."
Kamala Harris, the first Vice President of Asian and African descent in U.S. history, also contacted Floyd's family, declaring, "This is a day for justice in America." In his televised address following the verdict, Biden described racism as "a stain on the soul of our nation," and called for confronting systemic racism and racial disparities within law enforcement and the criminal justice system, describing the verdict as "a huge step" towards justice in the U.S.
Biden remarked that the protests following Floyd's death were something not seen since the civil rights movement and united people of various races. Regarding the Floyd family, he said, "Nothing can bring back their brother and father... but this can be a huge step in the journey for justice in America."
Barack Obama, the first Black President of the United States, stated that "the jury did what was right," adding that "true justice requires more than this."
Ben Crump, the attorney for the Floyd family, hailed the verdict as a historic victory for civil rights and a foundation for legislation that includes police reform, especially in their dealings with minorities. Crump tweeted, "The justice that we struggled to achieve has finally been attained by the Floyd family. This verdict is a turning point in history and sends a clear message regarding the need to hold law enforcement accountable."
He added, "Justice for Black people in America is justice for all Americans." Three other former police officers—Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane—also face charges related to Floyd's death, as they allegedly detained him under suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy a pack of cigarettes, and they will be tried separately later this year.
