His co-defendant Kueng Tou Thao was scheduled to be sentenced later Wednesday. Kueng and Thao were convicted in February of two counts of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Jurors found they denied the 46-year-old Black man medical treatment and failed to stop Derek Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9.5 minutes. Kueng, who is black, was sentenced to three years on each charge, to be served concurrently. The lower sentence for Kueng raises questions about whether he would consider a plea deal or risk an Oct. 24 state court trial, when he and Thao face charges of accessory to second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Former Minnesota police officer Tou Thao poses for a booking photo at the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis on June 3, 2020. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters) Kueng held Floyd’s back, former officer Thomas Lane held his legs and Thao held back bystanders, some of whom recorded video that sparked global protests. The US federal government brought 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 an affirmation of the US Justice Department’s priorities to address racial disparities in policing, a promise made by President Joe Biden before his election. And they come just a week after federal prosecutors filed hate crime charges in the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and announced two sweeping police investigations in two states. Chauvin, who pleaded guilty last year to violating Floyd’s civil rights and a teenager’s civil rights in an unrelated case, was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. Lane, who twice asked if Floyd needed to roll over on his side so he could breathe, was convicted of one count and sentenced last week to 2½ years in prison — a sentence Floyd’s brother Filonise called “insulting.” . For Kueng, prosecutors asked for less time than Chauvin and “substantially” more time than Lane. Kueng’s lawyer had asked for two years, according to prosecutors. A woman walks next to a mural of George Floyd in Montreal on June 13, 2020. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press) Kueng and Thao won a victory last week when U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson issued rulings affecting how their federal sentences are calculated. The rulings – particularly those crossing their crimes with manslaughter instead of murder – meant the men headed into Wednesday’s hearings with a recommended range of 4¼ to 5¼ years. Maybe they were facing a life sentence. Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and a former federal prosecutor, said before the hearings that once the men knew what their federal sentences were, they would likely seek a plea deal on the state charges. t exceed the federal sentence and will let them serve the sentences concurrently. Kueng and Thao, who is Hmong American, can still appeal their federal convictions. If they plead guilty in state court, any federal appeals would be moot, said Mike Brandt, a criminal defense attorney who prosecuted the case. But it’s also hard to win a federal appeal, he said. WATCHES | Reactions to Chauvin’s guilty verdict:
George Floyd’s guilty verdict brings relief, calls for justice reform across US
Many Black Americans expressed a sense of relief after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd, but it also fueled calls for more justice reform across the country — including in the White House. “Those are some of the calculations they’re going to have to do in terms of, ‘Do I go to trial and risk something worse? Do I think I have a good chance to appeal the federal case?”’ Brandt said. Lane, who is white, pleaded guilty to a state charge of accessory to second-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was allowed to remain free on bond following his federal sentence. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in state court and is serving 22.5 years in prison. His federal and state sentences are to run concurrently.
