Case Closed

 Derek Chauvin was sentenced to serve twenty-two and a half years in prison. He was given "credit" for the one hundred ninety-nine days he has already served while awaiting trial and then his sentence. Judge Peter Cahill had this to say as he delivered the news: “What the sentence is not based on is emotion or sympathy. But at the same time, I want to acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all the families are feeling, especially the Floyd family. I’m not going to attempt to be profound or clever because it’s not the appropriate time. I’m not basing my sentence on public opinion. I’m not basing it on any attempt to send any messages.”

Nothing profound or clever. Just the numbers. No message. Just the months. Two hundred seventy months for charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. For the crime of killing George Floyd. Prosecutors had asked for thirty years. George Floyd's family had asked that he be given the maximum, which would have pushed that number into the sixty-five year range. This contrasts mightily with the probation suggested by Chauvin's attorneys. Or the new trial that had been requested by the now convicted and sentenced killer. 

The life sentences are the ones that George Floyd's family were handed way back in May of 2020. The son, the father the brother, the uncle, the cousin they lost will not be coming back. Derek Chauvin will be in jail until he is sixty-seven years old. George Floyd's daughter will be thirty. 

But here's the thing about being a survivor: There is no probation. No time off for good behavior. The prison George Floyd's family has no escape. They can only take comfort from the verdict and the sentence handed down by the court. 

Without being clever. Without being profound. With liberty and justice for all. 

Or something like it.