George Floyd's family reacts to Derek Chauvin's sentence: 'Twenty-two years is not enough'
Derek Chauvin received 22.5 years in prison for the death of George Floyd, as opposed to the 30 years that the prosecutors seek. Judge Peter Cahill noted that the prison term of 22 years and six months reflects the "particular cruelty" of the crime committed by Chauvin. The ex-cop has 90 days to appeal against the sentencing.
During the hearing, George Floyd's family including his 7-year-old daughter Gianna and his brother, Terrence gave victim impact statements. While little Gianna said that "she misses her daddy" and "asks about him all the time", Terrance noted that they "seek the maximum penalty". Floyd's family reacted to the verdict and noted that even though the "punishment didn't fit the crime", it's important to "keep fighting".
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Speaking of the verdict, George Floyd’s sister, Bridgett Floyd said, “The sentence handed down today to the Minneapolis police officer who killed my brother George Floyd shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously. However, we have a long way to go and many changes to make before Black and Brown people finally feel like they are being treated fairly and humanely by law enforcement in this country.” Floyd's maternal aunt, Angela Harrelson called the decision bittersweet and said, "We did good to get the verdict. Does the punishment fit the crime? No, it doesn’t. But this is why it’s so important for us to keep fighting for a better judicial system.”
Floyd's cousin Brandon Williams said about the verdict, "We got justice, but not enough justice. Twenty-two years is not enough." He added, "Gianna can't hug George again. We can't get George back. So in retrospect, I think he should have received a life sentence as well." "I won't celebrate this. I won't celebrate it at all. But I will celebrate a guilty conviction of a police officer that killed a Black man. This 22 and a half years just doesn't work for me, " he said.
George's brother Rodney said, "It's a slap on the wrist. We're serving a life sentence by not having him in our life." He added, "For Gianna, that will mean no time ahead with her dad, no shared conversations between father and daughter, "those wonderful phone calls lighting up her face."" Floyd's other cousin spoke about the verdict and said, "Truth be told, I don't think any sentence would be enough. We definitely wanted to see the maximum penalty. We didn't get what we wanted."