President Biden welcomed the guilty verdict in the murder trial of former policeman Derek Chauvin last night, following weeks of hearings into the death of George Floyd.
“It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism … a stain on our nation’s soul,” Biden said.
“Today, a jury in Minnesota found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd last May.
“The knee on the neck of justice for black Americans, the found fear and trauma, the pain, the exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every single day,” he continued.
The Democratic president said Mr. Floyd’s death had unified people of “every race and generation in peace”, despite months of violent protests and fatalities in the wake of the murder.
“The murder George Floyd, launched a summer of protests we hadn’t seen since the Civil Rights Era in the 60s, protests that unified people of every race and generation in peace and with purpose, to say enough, enough, enough of the senseless killings. Today, today’s verdict is a step forward,” Biden said.
“I also spoke with George Floyd’s family again, a remarkable family of extraordinary courage.
“Nothing can ever bring their brother, their father back. But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America. Let’s also be clear, as such a verdict is also much too rare.
“For so many people, it seems like it took a unique and extraordinary convergence of factors, a brave young woman with a smartphone camera, a crowd that was traumatized, traumatized witnesses, a murder that lasts almost 10 minutes in broad daylight for the whole world to see.”
Vice-president Kamala Harris said black people had been treated as “less than human” throughout American history.
“Their lives must be valued in our education system, in our healthcare system, in our housing system, in our economic system, in our criminal justice system, in our nation,” she said.
“Full stop.”
A Minnesota jury unanimously found Derek Chauvin guilty of guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Third-degree murder charges require proof that the accused caused death by committing a dangerous act that was very likely to cause death, showing a disregard for human life.
Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes before the victim eventually died.
It is expected that Chauvin’s defense team will appeal the guilty verdict.
GUILTY.
GUITLY.
GUILTY. #DerekChauvinit's not just this moment. it's the movement. #GeorgeFloyd RIP pic.twitter.com/nqJLvcsGuD
— Jenny Yang (@jennyyangtv) April 20, 2021