Derek Chauvin's bodycam footage shown for first time at George Floyd trial
Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin , who was seen in videos kneeling on the late George Floyd's s neck for more than nine minutes, faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder and up to 10 years for second-degree manslaughter.
George
Floyd died in May 2020 after Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's
neck while he pleaded, "I can't breathe."
In his closing argument,
prosecutor Steve Schleicher urged jurors to focus on the video showing Chauvin
pressing his knee into Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.
Schleider stated: "This
case is exactly what you thought when you first saw it — when you first saw the
video," he said. "It's exactly that. It's exactly what you saw with
your eyes. It's exactly what you knew. It's exactly what you felt in your gut.
It's what you now know in your heart. This wasn't policing, this was murder."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted : "No verdict can bring George back, and
my heart is with his family as they continue to grieve his loss," he wrote
in part. "Minnesota mourns with you, and we promise the pursuit of justice
for George does not end today."
Despite the fact that victory
would be George Floyd being alive, the
verdict was just a first step to a long line of injustice against the Black
community in the US.
True justice requires much more while
there are uncountable families waiting for justice.
The systemic racism within the
US criminal justice system is far from being abolished.
Justice has been done in the
case of George Floyd, however, Black Americans constant worry if they will be
next remains another day without justice.
