Derek Chauvin is going to have a long time to contemplate whether his act of violence was worth the price tag that is attached to it. From the stunned look in his eyes when the verdict was read and he realized that his white privilege card had been declined and he was going to have to pay up, this is a man whose arrogance knows no bounds. He’s about a get a Ph.D. in humility at the school of hard knocks. Axios:
Why it matters: Chauvin, who is still awaiting sentencing, is being held in the isolation wing of Minnesota’s only maximum-security prison because the state’s prison system fears for his safety.
The cells in the prison’s isolation wing are small and only contain a bench with a mattress pad, a toilet and sink, and a tiny shower and are constantly monitored by cameras as well as a guard inspection every 30 minutes.
- The former officer is allowed to exercise for one hour a day outside of his cell but will be kept away from other inmates.
The big picture:Â A sentencing decision for Chauvin will be rendered in the coming weeks.
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Chauvin faces a likely sentence of up to 12 years behind bars for the second-degree murder charge, though the judge could go higher if jurors find aggravating factors.
What always amazes me when something like this happens, is it is all so needless. Chauvin didn’t need to act out his demons on George Floyd. There was a different way to handle the situation, but he chose to do the dark and despicable thing. As has been endlessly pointed out, but for the fact of the 17-year-old girl who was taking a young relative to get a snack, and happened to be at the right place at the right time to capture this on film, Chauvin may well have gotten off. Apparently, that was the gamble. In fact, it was more than a gamble, it was a tacit understanding that he was the man and the system was the system and the system would protect him.
And now he finds out that a larger system is in control, beyond the proverbial smoke filled rooms and cynical fixers, which are the only power brokers that Chauvin understands, apparently. Chauvin was tried by a jury of his peers, in a court of law, and the evidence against him was overwhelming. He also was tried in the court of public opinion. A petty, evil man did his usual petty, evil thing, but then the paradigm flipped on him. He found himself in a larger world, with his deeds being evaluated in a different context than what he was used to.
And for the philosophic amongst us, maybe there’s a higher court still that he has yet to go to? That’s out of our hands. In this world, a verdict has been reached and sentence will be pronounced. And that’s the last thing in the world Derek Chauvin was counting on.
The MAGAts will not stand idly by for this…..they will perceive this as an assault on their Anglo-Saxon way of life. There will be reprisals.
*smirk*
MAGAts cannot pronounce Anglo-Saxon, much less understand what it means!
12 years? When he could get up to 40? Seriously? Where does that come from? And what about the other charges he was found guilty of? I guess my opinion has changed from “Justice has been done” to “Justice has been done. So far”. IANAL, but isn’t there also something about murder during the commission of a felony is 1st degree murder? He was convicted of not one, not two, but three felonies. 12 years is still getting off way too easy. YMMV.
Sentencing guidelines used in Minnesota.
My recollection is that the Milwaukee Black cop who shot and killed the White woman got 12.5 years. Maybe they can be in the same cell block.
My guess is that he gets somewhere between 18 and 20 because of aggravating factors of the crime, his prior 15+ use of force complaints and the fact he falsely registered to vote in FL and voted there in 2016 and 2018 while taking a homestead exemption in Minnesota and working as a police officer.
He allegedly got a FL DL and in light of Gaetz indicted friend and his use of ID’s created in his office it made me briefly wonder if that was how he got the DL at the same time his DL in Minnesota should have been canceled.
Sentencing guidelines for a first offense for morder 2 (and I know, I know, but it’s his first conviction and that[‘s what they have to go by) average around 12.5 years, according to Glenn Kirschner (His YouTube channel is subtitled “Justice Matters.) He also cited three aggravating circumstance, one of which is that hw did it while children were watching. Again, they have to go by what the guidelines say are aggravating circumstances, not necessarily what you or I would think are aggravating circumstances. Another was he did it while in a position of authority. I forget the third, and I’m not sure there aren’t more than three. Anyway, the prosecution (on tha ball of course) has already filed with the judge their request that particular circumstances be taken into account/
He will receive three sentences, one for each cont, but they will almost certainly be served concurrently, so it’s only the longest one that counts.
I hope he gets at least 20 or 30 yrs. That look on his face while he was killing George Floyd , he was enjoying it . He stayed on George 3 + min. after he was already dead ! the ambulance driver had to tell Chauvin to get off him so they could get him in the ambulance . Horrible
I do think it’s a good thing he’s in solitary. Something bad happening to a high profile prisoner doesn’t benefit anyone, least of all the facility.