Derek Chauvin is Found Guilty of the Murder of George Floyd

Yesterday Derek Chauvin, a Former Police Officer, was charged with the death of George Floyd and is facing decades worth of prison time. His sentencing is one of a rare group of cases on Police Brutality in which the officer is actually convicted. What closed this case, a video of Chauvin with his knee pressed hard against Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds; according to the New York Times.

This trial has long been at the center of every African American’s mind, it’s what stirred the protest and riots in Chicago, Georgia, and even here in Connecticut. It’s what motivated The Black Lives Matter marches across the nation. Their cries for justice have been rebounding and looping on every conceivable media platform available. This trial lasted over 7 days, and for two more, a jury of seven women and five men discussed and decided that Mr. Chauvin should face all three charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

“It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see”, a quote from President Joe Biden during an address at the White House proceeding the verdict. The President went onto say that this trial was a “too rare” step to deliver “basic accountability”.

The New York Times also saw Philonise Floyd, one of George Floyd’s brothers, after the verdict with this to say: “We are able to breathe again”. He went on to quote Emmett Till, a black child who was lynched in 1955 saying, “We ought to always understand that we have to march, we have to protest because it seems this is a never-ending cycle”.

People, far and wide, gathered at George Floyd Square to celebrate the justice that was brought to them, chanting “guilty” at the top of their lungs. Meanwhile, Mr. Chauvin, who previously free on bail, was walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs.