The jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin found the former Minneapolis police officer guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd.
“Are these your verdicts? so say you one, so say you all?” Judge Peter Cahill asked the jury after its verdict was announced.
“Yes,” the 12 jurors replied in unison.
Chauvin was accused of killing Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by kneeling on his neck for about nine minutes. The white former officer’s conduct last May, which was captured on video, set off a nationwide firestorm of protests and unrest against police brutality and racism.
The anonymous group of jurors began deliberating Monday, following closing arguments from the prosecution and Chauvin’s defense at the end of the nearly three-week trial in a Minneapolis courthouse. The jury had no time limit to reach a verdict.
Chauvin had been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Third-degree murder has a maximum of 25 years, and the manslaughter charge has a maximum of 10 years. Actual sentences often fall short of statutory maximums.
Earlier Tuesday, President Joe Biden weighed in on the trial, saying he hoped the jury reached the “right verdict.” The case was “overwhelming in my view,” Biden said at the White House, noting he was only sharing his opinion now that the jury was sequestered in deliberation.
