Jury finds Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd

Mr. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

Derek Chauvin, 45, was filmed kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck during his arrest last May for more than nine minutes. The widespread images have sparked global protests against racism and excessive police use of force. Chauvin was found guilty on three charges: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. His bail had been revoked and put under custody immediately. In two months, sentencing is likely, and Chauvin could go to prison for decades. He is supposed to appeal the verdict. 

Police officers have rarely been convicted – if they are charged at all – for deaths that occur in custody, and the verdict in this trial has been widely seen as an indication of how the US legal system will treat such cases in future. 

The task was for twelve jurors to decide if Chauvin is in prison or acquitted in facetime. The jury remained anonymous and unseen during the trial, but it has demographics that are skewed younger, whiter and women. After the closing arguments on Monday were presented to both sides, the jury was isolated from an outside hotel and therefore could deliberate on a verdict, a so-called sequestration process. Jurors had to agree on a unanimous verdict, and were told that until they had made their decision, they could not return home.