scheduled tribe. Paul, Min. ( Associated Press) — The judge overseeing the federal civil rights cases of four former Minneapolis police officers in the murder of George Floyd said Wednesday that he has accepted the terms of Derek Chauvin’s plea agreement and that he could be sentenced to 20 to 25 years. will be sentenced. In jail.
Chauvin pleaded guilty to Floyd’s civil rights violations on December 15, admitting for the first time that he placed his knee on Floyd’s neck – even after he was unresponsive – resulting in the death of the black man on May 25, 2020 Went. The former white officer admitted that he deliberately denied Floyd the right to be freed from unreasonable seizure, including undue force, by a police officer.
Under the plea agreement, which Chauvin signed, both sides agreed that Chauvin should face a sentence ranging from 20 to 25 years, with prosecutors saying they would seek 25. He could face life in prison on the federal count. With credit for good times in the federal system, he would serve 17 years to 21 years and three months behind bars.
US District Judge Paul Magnussen deferred accepting the settlement until a presentation inquiry was completed. He said in a one-page order on Wednesday that the report had been released, so it was appropriate to accept the deal now. They have not set a sentencing date for Chauvin.
Chauvin is serving a 22 1/2-year sentence for his murder conviction in state court last year, though he is appealing that sentence. He will serve a state sentence as well as a federal sentence.
The federal plea deal means that Chauvin will probably spend more time in prison than under his state sentence. State inmates in Minnesota typically serve one-third of their sentences on parole, which would mean 15 years in prison for them.
If Magnussen accepted the plea agreement, Chauvin waived his right to challenge his federal conviction.
Magnusson also did not set sentencing dates for the three other former officers who were indicted in February on related federal civil rights charges. The presence of Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and Jay Alexander Kueng is still under investigation. They are due to go to trial in state court next month on charges of aiding and abetting Chauvin in the murder of Floyd.
Prosecutors revealed at a pre-trial hearing last month that all three had rejected plea agreements on state charges. Terms were not disclosed. Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, said it was difficult for the defense to negotiate when the three still did not know what their federal sentences would be.
Watch the Associated Press’s full coverage of George Floyd’s death here: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
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