[ad_1]
MINNEAPOLIS, July 7 (AP) Derek Chauvin will be sentenced Thursday for violating the civil rights of George Floyd, reaching an agreement. The deal would extend the former Minneapolis police officer’s prison term while transferring him to potentially more favorable terms in federal prison.
Chauvin agreed to a 20- to 25-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty in December to federal charges over Floyd’s killing. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson will make the final decision, with prosecutors seeking the full 25, citing Chauvin’s actions as cold-blooded and unnecessary.
Also read | Singapore confirms first local case of monkeypox.
The defense is asking for 20 years, saying Chauvin takes responsibility for what he did and has already been sentenced by state court to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of Floyd. Attorney Eric Nielsen wrote that Chauvin’s “remorse will be evident in court,” suggesting Chauvin may speak at Thursday’s hearing.
Former U.S. Attorney Tom Huffinger said a judge could consider such a statement in sentencing.
Also read | Oil prices tumbled, with Brent falling below $100 a barrel for the first time since May 2022.
“It’s his chance to say, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t expect it, or whatever,” Hefinger said. “It is very beneficial for the prisoner to repent and show remorse in federal court, even more so than in state sentencing.”
Chauvin spoke briefly to Floyd’s family at a state sentencing hearing in May 2021, offering his condolences. Floyd’s relatives issued a victim impact statement at the time and were authorized to do so on Thursday. Lawyers for the family did not respond to messages seeking comment on their plans.
In making the federal request, Chauvin admitted for the first time that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck — even as the black man pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” and then became unresponsive — causing Floyd to Ed dies. White admitted that during his arrest in May 2020, he deliberately denied Floyd immunity from unreasonable detention, including unreasonable force by police.
Floyd’s death has sparked protests against police brutality and racism in Minneapolis and around the world.
To protect himself, Chauvin was quarantined in a 10-foot-by-10-foot room at the state’s maximum-security prison, where he was allowed an average of an hour a day to exercise.
Defense attorney Eric Nielsen said in court documents last month that Chauvin may never be placed in the prison’s general population because he was at risk of being targeted.
Chauvin’s plea deal required him to serve time in federal prison alongside his time in federal prison. He is expected to serve more time in prison than the time he faces on state sentences alone.
However, experts say Chauvin may be safer and live with fewer restrictions in federal prison. His security level and final destination will depend on the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which could send him anywhere in the country.
Chauvin would run the risk of encountering inmates he arrests or investigates in the general population of Minnesota prisons. While he can’t fully escape his notoriety in federal prisons elsewhere, he’s unlikely to meet inmates with whom he has a direct connection. If the bureau deems him safe enough among the general population, he will have more opportunities to walk around the facility, work and participate in programming.
Assuming the judge sticks to the bounds in the plea deal, he could have a good time in the federal system, and he could serve anywhere from 17 years to 21 1/4 years in prison. In the state system alone, Chauvin could have been entitled to parole after about 15 years.
Three other former Minneapolis police officers — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung and Thomas Lane — were convicted of federal civil rights charges in February over Floyd’s killing. Magnussen did not set a sentencing date for them.
Lane will also be sentenced on Sept. 21 after pleading guilty in state court to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Thao and Kueng rejected plea deals and will appear in state court on October 24 on aiding and abetting charges. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
[ad_2]
Source link