St. Cloud Lawyer Weighs In On Derek Chauvin Sentence

(KNSI) – St. Cloud area legal experts are reacting to the sentencing of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd.

The 45-year-old Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Bradshaw and Bryant Managing Partner Mike Bryant told KNSI News that the sentence was what he expected.

“It doesn’t surprise me. It was right in the middle of 20 to 25 years. That seemed to be the direction the judge was going. We knew the judge was going to use aggravating factors and go above the sentencing guidance.”

Some of the aggravating factors included Chauvin abusing his authority and committing a cruel action that led to Floyd’s death.

Without any aggravating factors, Chauvin could have been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

Bryant says there was never a chance that the judge was going to give the maximum sentence.

“I think anybody that was calling for the top of the box, the 40 years, that was never going to happen. I mean, they never sentence anybody to the top of the box because there’s no other conditions with it. So, anybody asking for that is in the same league as anybody that’s asking for him to get off on timeserved. That wasn’t gonna happen either.”

Bryant says he expects Chauvin’s lawyers to appeal the sentence.

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