America saw history in the making last night (April 20th, 2020), as former police officer Derek Chauvin was unanimously found guilty on all charges of murdering George Floyd back in May 2020.
Of course, the death of Floyd means that nobody comes out of this a winner; but we know now that with Chauvin being officially labelled a convicted murderer, a small slither of accountability will be served by the American court system.
Real justice however, would mean that Floyd would still be alive. He wouldn’t have been killed on that cold street, with an officer’s knee pushing down into his neck for nine-and-a-half minutes.
This is a small step forward in the fight against police brutality and racial inequality; but we still need to make massive leaps and bounds if we’re to leave this world in a better place than when we came into it.
President Joe Biden welcomed the verdict, but noted that much more has to be done.
He praised Floyd’s family as “remarkable” after speaking with them, and celebrated their “extraordinary courage”.
The President also tweeted that Floyd’s last words must not “die with him”, adding that we “cannot turn away” despite this conviction.
Convicted killer Chauvin will face sentencing in eight weeks. His bail has been revoked and he will remain in custody until that time.
The three charges on which he has been found guilty could amount to a sentence of 75 years: second degree unintentional murder with a max of 40 years; third degree murder with a max sentence of 25 years and; second degree manslaughter with a max sentence of 10 years or a $20,000 fine.
All eyes will now turn to the judge, as the people of America who want to see social justice take precedent in this case expect and deserve Chauvin to be given the max sentencing on all three counts.
After being found unanimously guilty in each, how could he receive anything different?
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