Prosecutors have asked a Minnesota judge to sentence former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 30 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, reports said Thursday.
In a brief filed earlier prosecutors said Chauvin's actions "traumatized" Floyd's family, onlookers who watched him die and the community. Chauvin's conduct "shocked the nation's conscience," the prosecutors said.
Prosecutors quoted the trial judge's decision last month that there were four aggravating factors in the murder of Floyd: First, the prosecutors argued Chauvin abused a position of authority and trust by his actions.
Second, they said the officer treated Floyd with particular cruelty.
Third, Chauvin committed the crime in front of children, which effectively makes them victims as well.
Fourth, prosecutors and the state suggested Chauvin was part of a group that ganged up on Floyd and, therefore, he should face a harsher punishment.
Chauvin knelt on the neck of Floyd for almost 10 minutes.
He was convicted in April of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death in May last year.
In his motion, Chauvin's lawyer Eric Nelson said his client's actions in pinning Floyd to the ground were best described as "an error made in good faith" based on his training.
Prosecutors said the punishment would "properly account for the profound impact" of Chauvin's actions. "No sentence can undo Mr. Floyd's death and no sentence can undo the trauma (Chauvin's) actions have inflicted," prosecutors said.
Legal experts said the defense's filing was "offensive" because Nelson provided no strong evidence that Chauvin was apologetic and instead appealed to sympathy.
"Chauvin deserves the highest punishment possible under the law for what he did," USA Today quoted Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and former president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP, as saying.
Nelson has requested a new trial for Chauvin, citing the highly publicized nature of court proceedings, among other factors.
Chauvin's sentencing is scheduled for June 25.
