Thursday, December 16, 2021
Legal Mayhem Thursday: Derek Chauvin Pleads Guilty
Yesterday, Derek Chauvin pled guilty to two counts of a federal indictment charging him with violating the civil rights of George Floyd and a 14-year-old boy he assaulted in 2017. Here are my thoughts:
-- First, the plea agreement calls for a 300 month (25 year) federal sentence, which will run concurrent to (at the same time as) the state sentence of 22.5 months. BUT... the federal sentence is longer in two ways. First, it is 2.5 years longer on its face. But he will probably only serve 2/3 of the state sentence (15 years), with the rest on supervised release. That leaves 10 more years of federal time he must serve (which is usually only reduced 15% for good time-- there is no parole).
-- Chauvin might serve the state time and then be transferred to federal custody. Or he might have negotiated a deal to do the whole thing in federal prison-- something that was in an earlier deal nixed by AG Barr (I haven't seen the actual plea agreement).
-- Importantly, he pled guilty to violating the civil rights of a 14-year-old boy in 2017, years before killing George Floyd in a similar matter. It is a serious indictment of the Minneapolis police that an officer committed such a crime and was not disciplined.
-- The other three defendants are still due to go to trial, first in federal court and then in state court. There are mixed views about how this affects them-- but it is worth noting that they previously sought to have their trial severed from Chauvin's. Wish granted!
-- The sentencing guidelines for Chauvin if he had gone to trial were likely to point to life in prison without parole-- and the statute even allows for the death penalty. This deal gives him a chance to re-enter society down the road.
-- We did get this: Derek Chauvin saying he killed George Floyd, and wrongfully assaulted a child. There is power in that truth.
