Saying that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin exhibited “particular cruelty” in his murder of George Floyd, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison submitted a recommendation to the court asking for the harshest available sentence for Chauvin.
The Washington Post reports that Ellison submitted a 26-page brief to the Hennepin County court pushing for a long sentence for Chauvin, who was convicted of murder and homicide charges by a jury after kneeling on Floyd’s back and neck for more than nine minutes.
“Mr. Floyd was treated with particular cruelty,” Ellison wrote, adding, “Defendant continued to maintain his position atop Mr. Floyd even as Mr. Floyd cried out that he was in pain, even as Mr. Floyd exclaimed 27 times that he could not breathe, and even as Mr. Floyd said that Defendant’s actions were killing him.”
Chauvin will be sentenced June 25th for second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. He faces up to 40 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of 12.5 years. The judge may consider aggravating factors in determining a sentence, such as cruelty or if a child witnessed the crime. During the trial, an 9-year-old testified about what she saw during the event.