Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer found guilty last year of murdering George Floyd, was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Thursday in a Minnesota U.S. District Court on a separate federal charge of civil rights violations.
Chauvin will also be relocated from the state prison where he is presently imprisoned to a federal prison, which many deem to be a far safer and comfortable and environment in which to spend time in prison.
In passing sentence, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson told Chauvin, ‘You must be held accountable for your actions.’
Chauvin was sentenced to 252 months in prison, but Judge Magnuson reduced it by seven months for time already served.
Chauvin, 46, pleaded guilty in December as part of a plea bargain, having to admit he violated Floyd’s civil rights by kneeling on his neck and back.
Prosecutors requested the maximum sentence of 25 years because Chauvin’s actions were cold-blooded and unnecessary, while his attorney, Eric Nelson, asked for the minimal amount.
