By Ansharah Asif
In May 2020, George Floyd, a Black man, died as he struggled to breathe while pinned underneath a former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee. Since the death of Floyd, Black Lives Matter protesters began calling for justice for Floyd and all innocent Black people who died at the hands of police brutality.
Following 10 hours of deliberating Chauvin’s case, on Tuesday, April 20, the jury ruled Chauvin guilty, charging him on three counts of murder and manslughter. He will serve up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder and up to 10 years for manslaughter.
Here’s what our fellow Barons feel about the guilty verdict of Chauvin.
All photos are provided.
“I feel that Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict was more than justified. There was proof, witnesses, health records and so much more evidence. He murdered George Floyd and if he were acquitted, that would show the world that another African American’s life was lost with no consequences. I think the fight for BLM is inching closer to it’s goal everyday. However, there is still so much brutality going on against African Americans and people of color. People still face discrimination each day and until African Americans are treated 100% equally, the fight is not over. I believe that the future is going to be extremely more accepting, diverse, and unified. The black lives matter movement showed that we are already making progress and creating a change. I feel that this change should have happened a long time ago, and the fact that there is still so much hatred towards African Americans is appalling. My generation however, has learned to call the people who are racist out, whether that includes family, friends or even higher figures. A lot of people are not used to being called out on their actions and since we are so young, I hope this will be normalized for future generations. I expect the future to be inclusive to all races and we will keep striving for equality,” junior Alexis Senn said.
“Derek Chauvin deserves his guilty verdict. I believe Chauvin was fully aware of what he was doing when he was doing it. He committed an atrocity when he murdered George Floyd – abusing his power as a police officer to violently bring about the death of another man. There was intention behind Chauvin’s actions, and witnesses and videos prove it. Chauvin was cruel and merciless as he murdered George Floyd – refusing to relent, refusing to lift his knee, and refusing to show empathy or humanity toward his victim. I am relieved that Derek Chauvin has officially been declared guilty but I think he deserves a longer sentence. I don’t think “up to 40 years” is justice for such a terrible crime. And since Chauvin’s official sentence won’t be determined until 8 weeks from now, there’s a very real possibility that he may end up serving even less time. I think this is super concerning for two reasons. First, it’s concerning because it means that Derek Chauvin may get off the hook with minimal jail time, getting undeserved reprieve from actual severe punishment. But also, it’s concerning because it sets a dangerous precedent for future police brutality cases. In the future, when another police officer like Chauvin inevitably abuses his or her power to hurt, torture, or murder an innocent civilian, the court may be able to say – “If Derek Chauvin got away with a small sentence for such a severe crime, other police officers should be exempt from serious punishment too”. I do not think that the BLM movement has achieved its goals yet, because police brutality is still happening every day and black Americans are still facing discrimination and injustice. For example, Makiah Bryant’s murder yesterday shows how black Americans are still being murdered at the hands of police men. Also, another thing, I think the fact that protests are still happening shows that the American people are still dissatisfied with how racial issues are being handled in our country. Until the issue of police brutality is resolved, the civil unrest will continue,” junior Sophia Henry said.
“I feel very happy that Derek Chauvin will serve the sentence he deserves and for George getting his rightful justice. I think he rightfully deserved it for killing a man who didn’t even resist or fight back and did nothing wrong and was murdered just because of his skin color. I think our fight for BLM has achieved many things however there is far more work that has to be done in order for there to be true equality and to destroy systematic racism. It may take years but with what we’ve accomplished today is a huge leap for the future. I expect the future to be a brighter place where no matter what skin color, race, ethnicity class, sexuality, etc. we will all have equal rights and opportunities and not be afraid to be who we are,” junior Cameron Cao said.
“Justice was served in Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict, without a doubt. I believe showing the video of George Floyd’s tragic death would convince anyone that Chauvin is indeed guilty of what he was convicted of– murder. Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, and he was found guilty of it; to me, it is as simple as that, and any jury given the evidence should come to the same verdict. It’s good to see the reactions to the verdict, the happiness and the tears of joy shared by people across the nation. I think Chauvinś verdict and charges were justified and deserved. However, despite three counts of charges adding up to 75 years in prison, Chauvin would only be sentenced according to the most serious charge, according to Minnesota sentencing guidelines. This, in addition to the fact that Chauvin has no previous convictions, means he may get a sentence of less than 15 years, which I dont think is severe enough of a punishment for taking the life of another person. The conviction of Chauvin this Tuesday was definitely a major step for the BLM movement. Itś a symbol of justice and a sign that the voices of the people are heard and answered. However, there is still a long way to go towards equality. Racism and discrimination has existed since the dawn of history, and even landmark decisions like Brown vs. Board of Education can only address parts of the issue. Despite that, I am sure that the BLM movement is closer towards its goal little by little. I expect the people to continue to unite as a community to further the movement in the future. The way to conquer social injustice is to make sure our voices are heard, and that each one of us do everything we can to show support and empathy. We may not be personally experiencing these issues ourselves, but we need to recognize that there are people out there going through these things. Continue to advocate for change, and bit by bit they will amount to great impact,” junior Andrew Liu said.
“About Derek Chauvin’s case I feel he got what he deserved. I don’t think Derek’s conviction means that goals for blm have been achieved because the BLM movement just started. The conviction is not a victory, it is a start to helping people of color achieve their basic right to live freely. With the BLM movement, our voices united and it shows that we all are together in this fight for racial equality. The unity we had shows the in future we will be bright where everyone will be treated equally and no one will have to live in fear,” junior Emroz Sandhu said.
“I’m glad he got what he deserved, he shouldn’t have walked free after killing an innocent person like that. I think we have achieved our goals but really, this is only the beginning. I’m glad that this incident was the wake up call for people to question our justice system, fight for equality, and shed light to the injustices people of color have to face. This has been happening for the longest time, and even after the BLM movement has died down a bit, sometimes it feels like nothing has changed. We have a long way to go but i’m glad that people are really passionate about this and more aware. With the BLM movement and even the Stop Asian Hate movement, I think the future’s looking brighter. I think our government has heard us and I hope they work on training their officers better and just fixing the system in general. Hopefully, people of color won’t have to live their daily lives in fear as much,” senior Ashley Phan said.
