Former police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed black George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, who killed him by pressing on his neck, and Thomas Lane, one of the three former police officers who were with him at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty.
TWO YEARS AFTER ACCEPT
Lane was one of three former police officers charged with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in connection with Floyd’s death. Lane, 39, who was holding his legs while Chauvin put pressure on Floyd’s throat with his knee, reportedly pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter two years later as part of a plea bargain.
LANE EXPECTED TO SAY 36 YEARS IN PRISON
In a statement made by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office, it was stated that prosecutors have agreed to drop the charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, and they offer a 36-month prison sentence for Lane.
‘IT IS AN IMPORTANT STEP TO ACCEPT WHAT HE MADE WRONG’
“I am pleased that Thomas Lane accepts responsibility for his role in Floyd’s death,” said Ellison. It is essential for our journey.”
‘My client didn’t want to take the risk of losing his murder case’
Defense attorney Earl Gray said Lane agreed to plead guilty, as he would face 12 years in prison if found guilty of murder. “My client didn’t want to risk losing his murder case, so he decided to plead guilty to homicide with 3 years in prison, to be released after 2 years, and the murder case was dropped. The sentence will be concurrent with his federal sentence and he will serve his sentence in a federal institution,” Gray said. “She has a baby born and she didn’t want to risk her child not being a part of her life,” she said.
Lane, who was convicted last February of violating Floyd’s civil rights, is expected to be sentenced by a federal court on September 21.
Former police officers Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng face charges at the state and federal level for their actions or omissions at the time of the incident, as former police officer Chauvin pressed his knee to the neck and back of Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying facedown on the ground. During Floyd’s arrest, Lane held back Floyd’s legs, Kueng his torso, and Thao stood nearby, holding the crowd back.
CHAUVIN’S DEFENSE AGREEMENT ACCEPTED
The plea bargain that Chauvin submitted to the federal court was accepted. Federal Judge Paul Magnuson, who is handling the case on federal charges of violating his civil rights and obstructing a lawsuit related to Floyd’s death, said in a statement that Chauvin accepted the terms of the plea agreement and that Chauvin would be sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison.
A date has not yet been set for Chauvin, who is serving a 22.5-year sentence by the state court, for his sentence to be handed down by the federal court.
Former police officer Chauvin, who was held responsible for Floyd’s death in June 2020, was convicted of murder in June 2021 by the state court and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. Chauvin will serve the 25-year sentence expected to be handed down by federal court, concurrent with the 22.5-year sentence handed down by the state court.
(UAV)