OPINION: The Verdict of Derek Chauvin

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alt text By Jenna Hickey, Reporter, The Real Chi
 
 

Recently, a verdict was rendered in the case of Derek Chauvin. Guilty of all charges.  Chauvin, 45, faces 40 years in prison on a second-degree murder charge, 25 years on a third-degree murder charge and 10 years on a second-degree manslaughter charge for the murder of George Floyd. The question now is what is in store for our nation?

 The family of Gerorge Floyd were overjoyed at the outcome. Floyd’s brother, Rodney Floyd, said on MSNBC directly after the verdict was announced, “I’m so emotional that no family in history ever got this far... We got a chance to go to trial and took it all the way. This right here is for everyone that has been in this situation.” Floyd’s other brother, Philonise Floyd, told NBC's “TODAY” show, “I just feel that in America, if a Black man can’t get justice for this, what can a Black man get justice for?" 

 To have a better understanding of the meaning of this it is helpful to know how murders are classified. Second-degree murder is defined as either an unplanned, intentional killing (reacting in the heat of the moment when angry) or a death caused by a reckless disregard for human life. The difference between first and second-degree murder is the intent or mindset the defendant had when they took the action they did. Third-degree murder (also called manslaughter) is an unplanned, unintentional killing that is not part of another felony. It can be either involuntary (you fall and push someone off a ledge by accident) or voluntary (you punch someone and unintentionally kill them).

The biggest difference between third-degree murder and the other two is that it is not planned, and it doesn't rise to the level of reckless disregard for human life. In the eyes of the law, a person committing third-degree murder still shows ill will toward someone else by harming them. Whether someone intends some harm but not death or there is an accident, they can still face manslaughter charges if someone dies because of their actions.

What we do now is up to us. Tensions are so high and fear and distress can be found in the hearts of many due to the many highly televised police brutality footage and the objective of holding individuals in a high place of power, accountable for wrongdoing. To keep absorbing information as it presents itself in regards to new court trials or incidents involving abuses of power or other acts of unlawfulness, that is as it is stomachable, makes for a responsible and informed citizen who is best able to attend to the situation be it with a protest or march or other vehicles of change. The goal here is for the people of this country to be on the same page. And a peaceful page flip or two to get there would make for the least damaged pages.