He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but in December 2021 he pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights and admitted to keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck even when he was unresponsive. Chauvin’s plea deal calls for 20 to 25 years in prison. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of three counts in Floyd’s death — second-degree involuntary manslaughter, third-degree murder and second-degree murder — for pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes. He has already been sentenced to 270 months, less time served, which equates to about 22.5 years in prison. Former officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were also charged for their roles in Floyd’s death. The three had pleaded not guilty but were convicted by a jury. The four former officers were trying to arrest Floyd on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a convenience store. Former police officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court during his sentencing for the killing of George Floyd at the Hennepin County Government Center, June 25, 2021, in Minneapolis. Court television During the encounter, Chauvin kept his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed and prone on the sidewalk, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe before he fell unconscious and lost a pulse, according to evidence presented at Chauvin’s state trial. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Thao and Kueng are now awaiting a state trial on charges of accessory to murder and accessory to involuntary manslaughter in Floyd’s death. The two pleaded not guilty. The trial is set to begin on October 24. Thomas Lane pleaded guilty to accessory to second-degree murder in exchange for the primary charge against him of accessory to second-degree involuntary manslaughter being dismissed. Under the plea deal, both prosecutors and Lane’s legal team will recommend a sentence of 36 months or three years in prison. If he went to trial and was convicted of both charges, he could have faced a maximum of 40 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
