Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin murder charge has been upgraded from third degree to second degree murder. Under third degree murder charges, Chauvin would have faced 12 year in jail. Under second degree murder, he faces 25 years.
| Derek Chauvin murder charge upgraded to second degree |
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Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines indicate two different possibilities for intentional second-degree murder and unintentional second-degree murder. The former sentencing guideline calls for, upon conviction, 25 and a half years in prison, whereas the latter calls for 12 and a half years.
On Monday, Ben Crump, the attorney representing George Floyd’s family, released the findings of an independent autopsy and said they determined that Floyd died of asphyxiation from sustained pressure. However, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s final autopsy report said that the cause of death was homicide, due to cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.
Ellison took the lead on the case last week, and will work alongside Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. There were calls in the community for Ellison to prosecute Floyd’s death. Gov. Tim Walz said the move was made as heard a profound message from protesters: “They believe time and time again, the system works perfectly well as it was designed: to deny those rights and deny justice to communities of color.”