As detailed in this CBS News piece, the parties in the case of Minnesota v. Chauvin are making very different sentencing requests:
Derek Chauvin asked a judge to sentence him to a term of probation or a shorter prison term than suggested by Minnesota guidelines in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday. The memo cites Chauvin's lack of previous criminal history, his previous work as a police officer and the risk he could be victimized in prison as factors the judge should consider as he weighs a sentence.
But in another memorandum filed Wednesday, prosecutors asked for a sentence of 30 years for the convicted former Minneapolis officer, a term they said would "properly account for the profound impact of [Chauvin's] conduct on the victim, the victim's family, and the community."...
Last month, Judge Peter Cahill found "aggravating factors" exist that allow for him to sentence Chauvin to a term longer than the suggested 15 years. Cahill agreed with prosecutors that four such factors exist: that Chauvin committed a crime in front of a child, that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty, that he acted as part of a group, and that he abused his position of trust and authority as a police officer. Cahill found that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty because he killed Floyd slowly despite Floyd's pleas that he couldn't breathe. Floyd was "begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die" but Chauvin "objectively remained indifferent to Floyd's pleas," Cahill wrote.
Wednesday, prosecutors said the aggravating factors support their recommendation of double the 15-year upper end of the sentencing range, or 30 years. Chauvin, they said, "brutally murdered Mr. Floyd, abusing the authority conferred by his badge." "His actions traumatized Mr. Floyd's family, the bystanders who watched Mr. Floyd die, and the community. And his conduct shocked the Nation's conscience," the prosecution's memo read. "No sentence can undo the damage [Chauvin's] actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must hold [Chauvin] fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct."
But in the defense memo, Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson asked Cahill to discount his finding that aggravating factors apply, and rule instead that mitigating factors allow either for a term of probation or a shorter sentence than guidelines suggest. Nelson asked the judge to "look beyond" his findings to Chauvin's "background, his lack of criminal history, his amenability to probation, to the unusual facts of this case, and to his being a product of a 'broken' system."
Nelson said that Chauvin has been "painted as a dangerous man," but argued that "behind the politics, Mr. Chauvin is still a human being." He cited Chauvin's 19-year history with the Minneapolis police department, several on-the-job commendations and the support of his family and friends. "In spite of his mistakes, Mr. Chauvin has demonstrated that he has a capacity for good and that he has the discipline to consistently work toward worthwhile goals," the memo reads.
The defense memo says Chauvin, 44, has been diagnosed with heart damage and that he may be likely to die at a younger age like other ex-law enforcement officers. It also says Chauvin may be more likely to be victimized in prison because he was convicted as a police officer, pointing to the fact that he is being segregated from the general prison population before his sentencing over safety concerns. It also says Chauvin has no previous criminal convictions and complied with pre-trial release conditions and court procedures. "Throughout these proceedings, and in the face of unparalleled public scorn and scrutiny, Mr. Chauvin has been very respectful to the judicial process, the Court, and the State," the memo said.
These new sentencing filings are available at these links:
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