Photograph: Nikolas Liepins/Rex/Shutterstock In Minneapolis, celebrations broke out at the news of a guilty verdict. The prosecution put a persuasive case to the jury as a string of witnesses – including Chauvin’s former police colleagues, medical experts and bystanders – built a picture of an officer who exceeded his authority and training in pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. The second-degree murder charge required the jury to find that Chauvin committed a crime by kneeling on Floyd’s neck, which in turn led to his death. “For so many it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver just basic accountability,” he said. Officers standing up and testifying against a fellow officer instead of just closing ranks.”īiden said all of those factors and more were required for Chauvin to be brought to justice. A murder that lasts almost 10 minutes in broad daylight. A brave young woman with a smartphone camera. “It seems like it took a unique and extraordinary convergence of factors. But let’s also be clear: such a verdict is also much too rare,” he said. “This can be a giant step forward in the march towards justice in America. Joe Biden, in an address to the nation, praised the verdict but noted how difficult it is to ensure justice is served. Joe Biden speaks on the verdict as Kamala Harris looks on, at the White House. The conviction does not put an end to the highly charged case, which reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement, as three other officers face trial later this year accused of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. “This verdict reminds us that we must make enduring enduring, systemic, societal change.” “I would not call today’s verdict justice, however, because justice implies true restoration, but it is accountability which is the first step towards justice,” he said. Minnesota’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, welcomed the verdicts. He faces up to 40 years in prison but is likely to receive a shorter sentence, according to legal guidelines. ![]() “In the end, you know what, you can’t be Black.”Ĭhauvin, who showed little emotion as the verdicts were read, was immediately taken into custody to await sentencing. “We don’t get to celebrate nothing,” said one protester, KC Taynor, according to the Columbus Dispatch. However, a fatal police shooting in Ohio of a 15-year-old girl, which took place just moments before the verdict was read, unleashed a sense of fury and frustration among protesters who gathered at the scene. Hundreds of national guard troops had been deployed in preparation for an acquittal. The convictions sent a wave of relief across large parts of a city that was badly hit by riots and looting in the days after Floyd’s death alongside peaceful protests. What we’ve been fighting for this entire time. ![]() We need the change and we got it,” she said. People inside the Twees Foods Store in the Third Ward where George Floyd grew up watch the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial in Houston, Texas. Biden told the family: “Nothing is going to make it all better, but at least now there is some justice.” He added: “We’re all so relieved.”Īt George Floyd Square, the makeshift memorial that has grown up in the street where Chauvin killed him, Mileesha Smith welcomed the verdicts. President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and Jill Biden, the first lady, called members of the Floyd family moments after the verdict, according to video posted by Crump. This case is a turning point in American history for accountability of law enforcement and sends a clear message we hope is heard clearly in every city and every state.” As an African American, we usually never get justice,” he said immediately afterwards.īenjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Floyd family, said in a statement: “Justice for Black America is justice for all of America. ![]() “I was just praying they would find him guilty. As the guilty verdicts were proclaimed, he closed his eyes and nodded his head repeatedly. He sat praying in the minutes before the verdict and was visibly shaking as it was announced. Floyd’s brother, Philonise, was the only family member in court.
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