Derek Chauvin was held accountable for killing George Floyd on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean America’s justice system isn’t broken.
On Tuesday evening, Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in May 2020, was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The unanimous verdict was delivered to the nation after a jury of 12 people deliberated for more than 10 hours. Viewers at home and people in the streets of Minneapolis breathed a collective sigh of relief upon hearing the verdict. While many celebrated the long-awaited decision, it was clear for activists that injustice endures, police brutality persists, and no verdict could reverse Floyd’s death. In addition, the uncertainty leading up to the verdict had become yet another source of pain for the Black community stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of mourning, activists noted online. Read more…
More about George Floyd, Social Good, Web Culture, and Activism