A jury in Minnesota, U.S. where 45-year-old George Floyd, died in May 2020 after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes suffocating him to death after arrest. The footage on the act was widely watched triggering worldwide protests and racial reckoning.
The jury, today found Chauvin guilty on three charges : second-degree murder, third degree murder and manslaughter. In Minnesota, second-degree murder carries a maximum of 40 years prison though the white officer is expected to be punished with a lesser term. Third-degree murder is punishable by up to 25-years in prison.
The trial had been anxiously awaited for, amid heightened security that fortified the region and is seen as a test for racial justice. Several hundred people cheered outside the court. Floyd’s family lawyer, Ben Crump, said it marked a “turning point in history” for the U. S.
President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris called the Floyd family after the verdict. Biden reportedly said “at least now there is some justice.”
