Chauvin intends to plead guilty to violating George Floyd’s civil rights

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police offensive officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, will be changing his not guilty plea to federal charges that he violated Floyd’s civil rights.

According to a U.S. District Court notice in Minnesota, Chavin will enter a new plea at 9 a.m. Wednesday (NBC News). There has not been word on how he intends to change his plea.

Back in April, Floyd was convicted on state charges of second and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June he was sentenced to 22 & ½ years in prison. If Chauvin does change his plea to guilty, it would remove him from federal trial, but may increase his prison time (ABC News).

This could prove beneficial for the other three officers also on trial, as Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao, had previously asked for a trial without Chauvin, but were denied. They had feared the evidence against Chauvin would hurt them more when facing a jury. However, the other officers have shown no intention of pleading guilty at this time.

With a guilty plea, Chauvin would likely receive a shorter federal sentence, but would have no parole. His federal penalty could range from 27 to over 33 years, but would likely end on the lesser side. It has not been made clear if Chauvin will be pleading guilty to all or some of the federal charges against him in regard to George Floyd’s death.