George Floyd’s family is referring to Derek Chauvin’s sentencing as a ‘slap on the wrist’ after the former cop from Minneapolis was given a jail sentence of 22 and a half years on Friday.
Relatives of Floyd were quick to slam the sentence imposed on Derek Chauvin because they felt he deserved life in prison for the tragic crime he committed, which comprised of murdering George Floyd by kneeling upon his neck for more than 9 minutes. The shockingly tragic incident took place last year, sparking outrage and unrest in the American nation as well as around the globe.
During a recent press conference that was reportedly held outside Hennepin County’s courthouse, George Floyd’s nephew, as well as his brother, were quick to blast the courtroom’s sentencing, boldly claiming that a 22-year sentence was just not good enough.
“Our George is gone, we were served a life sentence. We can never get him back. For this reason, I feel Derek Chauvin also deserved a life sentence too,” explained Brandon Williams who is Floyd’s nephew.
In the same way, Williams also spoke about how the entire sentencing sends out a wrong message relating to how you can kill any individual in cold blood, and then get a slap on the wrist for doing so.
“I simply cannot celebrate this but I will celebrate the fact that there is a guilty conviction relating to a police officer who murdered a black man.”
45-year-old Derek Chauvin had a maximal penalty of around 40 years at the most as he had been charged with second-degree unintentional murder.point 366 |
However, under the current sentencing guidelines, he would potentially be liable to get out of jail early.point 90 | But that is only if he conducts good behavior, allowing him to serve just two-thirds of his jail sentence, which is about 15 years.point 198 | However, prosecutors did request for 30 years, confirmed reports.point 255 | 1
On the other hand, Rev Al Sharpton was also quick to criticize the punishment as he felt the sentencing was not fair as Floyd was not alive.point 230 |
“One single sentence does not go about solving a justice-themed problem,” – he added.point 90 | But news reports did confirm how US President Joe Biden referred to Chauvin’s sentence as ‘appropriate,’ despite great claims that it was too light.point 233 | 1