April 20, 2021

 

Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. The jury returned its verdict after just 10 and a half hours of deliberation. Jurors spent three weeks listening to testimony about the day Floyd died under the weight of the 45-year-old cop's knee during an arrest on May 25, 2020. It was a  rare rebuke for police violence. Mr. Floyd’s death prompted the largest civil rights protests in decades. The verdict gave a tense nation a moment to exhale.
 The state moved immediately to have Chauvin’s bail revoked pending sentencing which will happen in eight weeks. Chauvin was remanded into custody taken from the courtroom in handcuffs. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison on the top charge. Cheers rose from the crowds that had gathered outside the courthouse and down at the intersection of 38th and Chicago now known as George Floyd Square. Cup Foods, the store in which Floyd was last seen alive, shuttered its doors ahead of the decision. Minneapolis and the country braced for potential violence stemming from the decision. Jurors had not sent back any questions to the judge or asked to review any of the hours of video or hundreds of exhibits entered in the course of the trial.