Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 7-2-21

Local Citizens Respond To Sentence Derek Chauvin Received For
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
For many citizens, the 22.5 years that Judge Peter Cahill handed down to Derek Chauvin last Friday for the murder of George Floyd, was not enough. Floyd’s family and prosecu- tors wanted the former Min- neapolis police officer to get more time, even up to 40 years. Chauvin was found guilty last month on all 3 counts. He still faces a fed- eral charge.
Chauvin was found guilty for placing his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds on May 25, 2020, leading to his death. His death sparked rallies and protests around the world. And, led to changes in many law enforcement agencies.
Locally, we asked citi- zens to respond to their feel- ings about the sentence Derek Chauvin received.
Carolyn Hepburn Collins: “The sentencing of Derek Chauvin, a former white policeman, is as signif- icant as the trial with multi- ple non-African American law enforcement officers serving as witnesses: Min- nesota's first Black Attorney General, Keith Ellison bril- liantly with his mixed racial team prosecuted this case against Chauvin; and a young African American fe- male using her cell phone ap- propriately as a bystander.
The judge capped off this work of unity with a purpose by sentencing this criminal adequately, above the mid- point, with extra years for his disrespect for Mr. George Floyd's human life and his cry for life and his Mother.
This is a lesson plan for teaching America's system of justice. KUDOS to a judicial system and young bystander that worked!”
Atty. Sean Shaw said: “22.5 years in prison is not enough. It was not the max- imum sentence allowed; this case cries out for a maximum sentence.
“Notwithstanding this fact, I hope that the family of George Floyd finds some sense of justice with this ver- dict and know that we will all continue to push for greater accountability for police vio- lence.”
Community activist and member of Florida Organize, Connie Burton said she’d like to see activists “start knocking on the doors of the Attorney General’s offices, and get the Democratic Party to go back and look at some of those federal sentences that were put in place under Jeff Sessions during the Trump Administration. A number of those sentences need to be reversed.
“The value this system put on a Black man’s life is 22.5 years. That’s what Derek Chauvin got. But a Black man gets life for a lesser of- fense,” she said.
Recently, Derrick Brooks Charities held a Zoom round- table with law enforcement officials and citizens. Part of
their discussion was the up- coming sentencing for Chauvin.
Darrell Daniels of Der- rick Brooks Charities said, “Judge Bradly Harper (a guest on the discussion) of the 15th Judicial Circuit did an outstanding job last month of explaining all of the possible sentences, had this been a case in FL. Whereby he could not speak specifi- cally to the Chauvin possi- ble sentence at the time due to judicial standards and Minnesota's laws are differ- ent from Florida's, he ex- plained the sentence could range from probation to the maximum sentence. How- ever, he made it clear that there is a scoring system in FL that takes into account previous convictions, nature of the offense and other fac- tors that judges are required to consider. So, he did not specifically say it, but he soft- ened the blow for almost 200 participants by inferring there could be some middle- ground in this sentence - which actually occurred.”
Daniels said he received several calls after the sen- tence and two of them stood out:
1. If that Black judge had not educated me on what the possible sentence could be, I don't know what I would have done after I heard that sentence. So, thank you for the forum. I felt better hear- ing it from a Black judge that is still a brother.
2. He murdered that man and all he got was 22 and 1/2 years when my nephew is doing 60 years for robbery and he didn't kill nobody! Where is the justice in that? Does a Black man's life mat-
ter? This man kneeled on the neck of a Black man in broad daylight and will only serve 15 years of his sentence”.
Hillsborough County Branch NAACP President Yvette Lewis, said, “I can- not celebrate the ruling in this case because there are many more cases of social in- justice active in the courts today. Derek Chavin was guilty of killing a Black man. He received 22.5 years of jail time. This was the one time he did not get away because 18 infractions prior he went home to his family. You see, the police tell us, ‘If you see something, say something’. Yet, they have the blue wall of silence that made Derek Chavin feel, as though he was right in all the mistreat- ments to Black people. I cannot celebrate, on to the next court case.”
Dr. Jeffery A. J. Johnson: “Justice has pre- vailed in some fashion. While it is historical in its ruling na- ture for an ex-law enforce- ment officer to receive a sentence of this length in my humble option it’s still not enough. Of course, retribu- tion cannot be sought for those officers who walked away with little to no punish- ment and remained on the force (Officers in the cases of
Breonna Taylor, Rodney King, Freddie Gray, etc.). “Chauvin’s ordeal is dif-
ferent. While his charges were not equated to premed- itated 1st degree murder, his actions for the lack of regard for human life warrants a “life sentence.” I pray the family finds some comfort in this punishment. I also hope that the federal justice de- partment finds him liable and guilty of civil rights vio- lations and add to this sen- tence.”
Atty. Ed Narain said: “The Derek Chauvin ver- dict was a bittersweet mo- ment for Americans concerned about fairness and justice. Many of us held our collective breaths, prepared for the worst once the verdict was read a couple months ago. Last week, even fewer of us were comfortable believ- ing he would not see more than ten years in prison.
“While I’m relieved by the sentencing, considering that George Floyd’s family has received the life sentence of having lost him from their lives forever, 22.5 years seems light. Nonetheless, there’s still hope for addi- tional years being added to Chauvin’s sentence because of the federal civil rights charges he will back in court
for.“Regardless, we must focus on the positive results coming from this trial.
“There’s a very loud mes- sage being sent to rogue cops who dishonor their profes- sion. There’s also a new awareness of how different Black neighborhoods are being policed. Let’s hope this moment becomes a turning point for positive changes that will make things better for police and community re- lations.”
Murder Of George Floyd
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