Derek Chauvin’s legal team has requested the former police officer be sentenced to probation for the murder of George Floyd. NPR reported court documents filed on Wednesday (June 2) show defense attorney Eric Nelson cited Chauvin’s age, support from family, and lack of a prior criminal record as he asked the judge for probation and time served. He described his client as the result of a “broken system.”
“Here, Mr. Chauvin was unaware that he was even committing a crime. In fact, in his mind, he was simply performing his lawful duty in assisting other officers in the arrest of George Floyd,” Nelson wrote according to the report.
“In spite of the notoriety surrounding this case, the Court must look to the facts. They all point to the single most important fact: Mr. Chauvin did not intend to cause George Floyd’s death. He believed he was doing his job.”
The lawyer has also moved for a new trial on Chauvin’s behalf. It is his belief the jury pool was unsatisfactory due to the notoriety of the case and the publicity behind it. Nelson also asserted Judge Peter Cahill abused his authority and should have granted the request for the trial to be moved out of Minnesota, and sequester the jury, according to NPR.
Chauvin’s sentencing is scheduled for June 25. Prosecutors have asked for Chauvin to be handed a 30-year sentence, saying three decades behind bars would “properly account for the profound impact of Defendant’s conduct on the victim, the victim’s family, and the community.”
“No sentence can undo Mr. Floyd’s death, and no sentence can undo the trauma Defendant’s actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must show that no one is above the law, and no one is below it,” wrote prosecutors. “Defendant’s sentence must hold him fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct.”
Last month, Judge Cahill found Chauvin abused his authority as an officer of the law when he murdered George Floyd. Cahill ruled that there were aggravating factors in the death which opened the door for the possibility of a longer sentence.
“The prolonged use of this technique was particularly egregious in that George Floyd made it clear he was unable to breathe and expressed the view that he was dying as a result of the officers’ restraint,” Cahill wrote.
As VIBE previously reported Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Three other ex-Minneapolis officers—J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao—were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. They are expected to be tried together this summer.