District Judge Paul Magnuson sharply criticized Chauvin for his actions on May 25, 2020, when he pinned Floyd to the pavement outside a Minneapolis corner store for more than nine minutes as he lay dying. “I really don’t know why you did what you did,” Magnuson said. “Putting your knee on a person’s throat until they expire is just wrong. Your behavior is wrong and offensive.” Chauvin had pleaded guilty to the federal charges in December. Magnuson, who presided over the federal trial and convictions of three other officers at the scene earlier this year, blamed only Chauvin for what happened. Chauvin was by far the senior officer and dismissed questions from one of the officers about whether Floyd should turn around. Chauvin appears in a Minneapolis court in June 2021. He will serve a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, concurrent with 22 and a half years for murder and manslaughter. (Court TV/The Associated Press) “You absolutely destroyed the lives of three young officers by taking command of the scene,” he said. Still, Magnuson’s sentence was on the lower end of the 20 to 25 years requested in a plea deal in which he will serve the federal sentence at the same time he serves 22 and a half years on state charges of murder and manslaughter. Because of differences in parole eligibility in the state and federal systems, it means Chauvin will serve slightly more time behind bars than he would have with the state sentence alone. He will also spend his time in the federal system, where he can be safer and can be held under fewer restrictions than in the state system. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, had asked for 20 years, arguing that Chauvin was remorseful and would make that clear in court. But Chauvin, in brief remarks, made no immediate apology or expression of remorse to Floyd’s family. Instead, he told the family that he wishes Floyd’s children “the best in their lives” and that they have “excellent guidance in becoming good adults.”
