The final arguments of the trial for the death of George Floyd will be next Monday.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin is charged with the crimes of murder in the second degree, punishable by up to 40 years in prison; murder in the third degree, with a maximum sentence of 25 years. And second-degree murder, deprived of 10 years of liberty
The final arguments in the trial against former white police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of African American George Floyd will be on Monday next week, Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA) judge Peter Cahill announced on Monday.
The magistrate also rejected a request from Chauvin’s defense to isolate the twelve members of the jury from Monday with the intention that they are not influenced by the protests that on Sunday night shook Minneapolis again after the death of an African American by Police shooting.
Cahill indicated that the jury would be isolated Monday, after final arguments, to begin their deliberations.
For the former police officer to be convicted, the twelve jury members must reach a unanimous verdict on one of the charges he is charged with.
Chauvin, who was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department for Floyd’s death, is charged with the crimes of second-degree murder, punishable by up to 40 years in jail; murder in the third degree, with a maximum sentence of 25 years, and murder in the second degree, which carries up to 10 years of deprivation of liberty.
However, since he has no criminal record, he could only be sentenced to a maximum of 12 and a half years in prison for the first two charges and four years in prison for the third.
Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, when four officers tried to arrest him for using a counterfeit bill to pay at a store. During his arrest, Chauvin pinned him to the ground by pressing his knee against his neck until he stopped breathing.
Today marks the eleventh day of the trial for Floyd’s death, which sparked the largest anti-racism protests in the United States a year ago since Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in the late 1960s.
This day of the trial is held after protests against police violence broke out last night in Brooklyn Center, northwest of Minneapolis, for the death of 20-year-old African-American Daunte Wright, who was allegedly shot by police during a traffic stop.
The protesters gathered in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department and threw rocks and other objects at the building.
To disperse the protesters, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets. At the same time, the authorities decreed a curfew until 6 a.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT).