So far, Derek Chauvin had not admitted any wrong in the death of George Floyd, forty-something black American who died during an arrest in May 2020. The former police officer pleaded guilty for the first time this Wednesday, December 15, admitting to having violated the constitutional rights of the deceased.
As a reminder, Derek Chauvin appealed after being convicted of murder by the Minnesota justice and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison. The 45-year-old former agent knelt on George Floyd’s neck for almost 10 minutes in May 2020, resulting in his death.
An agreement with federal prosecutors
This new aspect of the case concerns the proceedings instituted in parallel by the federal justice, which had indicted Derek Chauvin as well as his three colleagues for “violation of the constitutional rights” of the victim. This kind of “double” prosecution is relatively rare and shows the importance of this case, which has given rise to protests against racism and police violence across the United States.
The former police officer first pleaded not guilty in September. He nevertheless changed his strategy on Wednesday, as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors that will prevent him from a new trial.
The possibility that he would plead guilty had already been raised. Derek Chauvin had in particular fueled speculation at the end of his trial, declaring to the family of George Floyd: “There will be new information in the future, which I hope will be interesting and which will bring you peace of mind” .
For now, we do not know when his sentence will be pronounced. Federal prosecutors have in any case asked for 25 years in prison, to be served at the same time as the sentence handed down in state courts.
