On Wednesday, Chauvin’s lawyer filed a motion with Hennepin County District Court in which he asked Judge Peter Cahill to hand down the lenient terms when he sentences his client on June 25th.
In the document obtained by Daily Mail, Eric Nelson argued that Chauvin deserves a probationary sentence or ‘downward departure’ from the prison term he could face for the murder of George Floyd.
The document shows that Nelson asserted that Chauvin just committed an ‘error’ when he pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes during the arrest, adding that his client did not believe his actions were criminal.
Shortly after Nelson filed his motion, the prosectuion hit back and filed one of their own, asking Judge Cahill to deliver the maximum prison term possible and put Chauvin away for 30 years.
Attorney General Keith Ellison reminded Judge Cahill that he had already found there to be four aggravating sentencing factors: that Chauvin abused a position of trust and authority, acted with particular cruelty, acted with three other officers who all actively participated in the crime, and committed the offense in the presence of children.
The prosecution argued that Chauvin’s act was not just an abuse of his position, but an ‘egregious abuse,’ as well as ‘particularly cruel.’
Ellison noted that Floyd begged for his life, and ‘was obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die.’ He also stated that the court, ‘should order a sentence that is “twice the upper end of the presumptive sentencing range.”’
Currently, Chauvin might be looking at more than a 15-year prison term for the second-degree murder conviction. In Minnesota, the presumptive sentence is 12 and a half years.
But Judge Cahill is already in favor of all four aggravating factors brought by the prosecution. Because of this, Nelson has argued that Chauvin is ‘the product of a broken system,’ and that he should be sentenced leniently.
Chauvin is currently in solitary confinement in the maximum-security facility of Oak Park Heights.
According to Nelson, Chauvin is ‘not the average offender.’
“Prior to this incident Mr Chauvin led a hard-working, law-abiding life, and has experienced no legal issues,” Nelson filed stated his motion. “In his mind, he was simply performing his lawful duty in assisting other officers in the arrest of George Floyd.”
“Mr Chauvin’s is not a typical case in which a person commits an assault that results in the death of another,” he continued. “As is clear from Mr Chauvin’s actions had he believed he was committing a crime, as a licensed police officer, Mr Chauvin simply would not have done so.”
In a provocative manner, Nelson also attempted to minimize the crime of which Chauvin was convicted.
“Mr Chauvin’s offense is best described as an error made in good faith reliance his own [sic] experience as a police officer and the training he had received – not an intentional commission of an illegal act.”
“Chauvin has been reduced to this incident, and has been painted as a dangerous man,” Nelson stated. “However, behind the politics, Mr Chauvin is still a human being.”
Judge Cahill will hand down Chauvin’s sentence at a court hearing on June 25th.