Derek Chauvin, the cop who killed George Floyd, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison | The judge noted that he “abused his position of trust and authority”

Former policeman Derek Chauvin was sentenced this Friday in Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA) to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of African-American George Floyd, committed in May 2020.

Minnesota sentencing guidelines recommend 12 and a half years in prison for murder, but judge Pierre Cahill examined various aggravations before the hearing and found that by suffocating George Floyd with his knee on May 25, 2020, Derek Chauvin “abused his position of trust and authority” and acted “with great cruelty”.

Prosecutors had requested 30 years in prison, while his defense requested parole. The maximum sentence he could receive under the law was 40 years.

The magistrate stressed that his decision was based on the facts of a specific and individual case, and not on public opinion. “It’s not based on emotions or compassion,” he said.

“I want to recognize the deep and tremendous pain that all families feel, especially Floyd’s family, they have our compassion,” Cahill added.

For Floyd’s family it was a historic condemnation

Floyd family attorney Ben Crump called the decision “historic” and said it brought relatives of the victim and the United States “one step closer to reconciliation” after 13 tumultuous month.

For the first time since the murder, the 45-year-old policeman, who became the representative of police abuse in the United States, spoke publicly on Friday.

“At this time, due to additional legal issues, I am unable to make a full formal statement,” Chauvin told the Minneapolis court. “But briefly though, I want to offer my condolences to the Floyd family.”he added.

A few minutes earlier, Floyd’s family had asked for an explanation. “Why? What was he thinking when he knelt on my brother’s neck knowing he wasn’t a threat?” His brother Terrence asked the 45-year-old ex-policeman demanding a ” maximum penalty “.

The ex-cop’s trial, which began in March, has been watched by millions of Americans. For weeks, the crime scene was reviewed from all angles, testimonies from witnesses and parties were heard and an unprecedented number of police marched through the courtroom, mainly to denounce the attitude of their old colleague.

Floyd died on May 25 after Chauvin pressed his knee to his neck for more than nine minutes, sparking a wave of protests and race riots in the United States unprecedented since the assassination of Martin Luther King at the end of the 1960s.