On the afternoon of April 20, after nearly three weeks of court trial, former White policeman Drake Showan was sentenced in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, for the murder of African American man George Floyd.
A 12 member jury found Showan guilty of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
The photo is Drake Showan, a former White policeman
Showan was charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter after Freud’s death. He refused to plead guilty. If convicted, Showan will face up to 40 years’ imprisonment for second degree murder, 25 years for third degree murder and 10 years for second degree manslaughter. Since Showan had no previous criminal record, his sentence was lower than the maximum.
The trial of the case began on March 29, with 45 witnesses summoned by both sides.
Before the judgment, there were a large number of media and people waiting for Showan‘s verdict. Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, declared the state of emergency in response to the social unrest that could be triggered by the ruling.
Due to the verdict of Floyd case, the White House canceled the speech on American employment that was originally scheduled for that afternoon.
On May 25, 2020, Floyd, an African American, was killed due to Showan kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds in the streets of Minneapolis. Since the end of May last year, Floyd’s death has triggered a long and large-scale wave of anti police violence and racial discrimination across the United States.
As the case entered the adjudication stage, tensions appeared again in many parts of the United States. According to U.S. media reports, Minnesota governor Waltz declared a state of emergency in seven counties of the state on the 19th and asked neighboring states for more law enforcement assistance. At present, more than 3000 National Guard soldiers have assisted in law enforcement in Minneapolis. Washington, D.C., National Guard said in a statement on the 19th that 250 members of the National Guard will be sent to help cope with possible protests and riots in the capital.
Many media, including the Sydney Morning Herald, quoted Floyd’s lawyer’s comments on the case, saying that the case is a turning point in American history. Many analysts call it “one of the most important rulings in American history.“
Floyd’s “I can’t breathe” was quoted as a slogan by the protestors during the large-scale protest in the United States. In response to the ruling in this case, Floyd’s family requoted this saying: “today, we can breathe again.”.
