A verdict has been reached in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who is accused of killing the unarmed black George Floyd last year.
The judgment is expected to be read out in public on Tuesday afternoon between 4.30 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. (CET). This emerges from a communication from the court. The jury began deliberating the case on Monday.
Chauvin’s high-profile trial of three charges on Floyd’s death began in March and ended in a barbed wire-fortified courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday.
The video of Chauvin holding his knee on or near the back of Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes last May while Floyd was prone and handcuffed spurred months of protests across the country and revitalized the anti-brutality movement the police against black men.
Chauvin is charged with second degree murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter.
Second degree murder is sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison. Third degree murder has a maximum sentence of 25 years. Second degree manslaughter has a maximum of 10 years. Sentencing guidelines call for rates below the maximum.
Trials of three of the other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, are due to begin in August.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, previously stated that his client would appeal a guilty verdict because the jury may have been improperly influenced by outside forces. Nelson cited comments from Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Urging protesters to become confrontational if the jury acquitted Chauvin.
President Joe Biden, who has pledged to overhaul the nation’s criminal justice system, failed to express his views on the case while it was ongoing. On Tuesday, when the jury was seized, he said he was praying that the jury would come to the “right verdict”.
Later on Tuesday, the White House delayed Biden’s remarks on his stimulus package once it became clear that the verdict would be pronounced around the same time.
The tense atmosphere surrounding the trial has been heightened in recent weeks by a spate of police killings that have sparked protests.
On April 11, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was killed by a police officer in nearby Brooklen Center, Minnesota. Police officer Kimberly Potter later claimed she used a taser. Potter has resigned and has been charged with second degree manslaughter.
Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Latino, was shot dead by a Chicago police officer on March 29. Footage of the seventh grade murder, which caused fear in Chicago and across the country, was released during the Chauvin trial.
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