Author: Amy Fleetty
Associated Press
stone. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Last two convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights during the May 2020 killing of George Floyd Former police officers sentenced to 3 and 3 1/2 years in federal court on July 27 — sentences the judge said reflected the extent of their culpability in a case that sparked global protests over racial injustice part of the liquidation.
J. Alexander Kueng was sentenced to three years in prison and Tao Tao was sentenced to 3 1/2 years. They were convicted in February on two counts of violating Floyd’s civil rights. The jury found they deprived the 46-year-old black man of medical care and failed to prevent Derek Chauvin from kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes.
Coon held Floyd’s back as Chauvin grabbed Floyd’s neck, Officer Thomas Lane held his foot, and bystanders backed away during the killing by Thao. recorded.
The federal government filed civil rights charges against all four officers in May 2021, a month after Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court. They were seen as a nod to the Justice Department’s priority to address racial inequality in policing, a promise President Joe Biden made before his election. Just a week ago, federal prosecutors filed hate crime charges in the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and announced two full investigations into policing in both states.
Kueng and Thao were convicted in February on two counts of violating Floyd’s civil rights. The jury found they deprived the 46-year-old black man of medical care and failed to stop Chauvin. Kueng and Thao’s lower sentences have raised questions about whether he would consider a plea deal or risk a state court trial on Oct. 24, when they face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Last year, Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights and juvenile civil rights in an unrelated case. Lane, who twice asked Floyd if he should lie on his side to breathe, was convicted of one charge and sentenced to 2 1/2 — a sentence that Floyd’s brother Philonis called an “insult”.
Kueng and Thao won when Magnuson issued a ruling that affected how their federal sentences were calculated. The rulings — especially one that cross-referenced their crimes with involuntary manslaughter rather than murder — mean the men entered July 27 with a suggested range of 4 1/4 to 5 1/4 years hearing. They could face life sentences.
Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas’ School of Law and a former federal prosecutor, said before the hearing that Kueng and Thao will likely seek plea deals on state charges that do not exceed the federal prison term and will allow them to serve both sentences .
Kueng and Thao can still appeal their federal convictions. Mike Brandt, a criminal defense attorney who has been following the case, said any federal appeal would be pointless if they plead guilty in state court. But winning a federal appeal will also be difficult, he said.
“Those are some of the calculations they have to make, ‘Am I going to experiment and risk something worse? Do I think I have a good chance of appealing a federal case?'” Brandt said.
Lane, who is white, pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing in the case. He was released on bail following the federal sentencing.
Chauvin, who is white, was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in state prison in addition to his federal sentence. These sentences are being served concurrently.
