World

George Floyd's killer moved to Texas prison

Former Minneapolis police officer convicted in death of George Floyd has survived prison stabbing in Arizona

REUTERS August 21, 2024

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin addresses his sentencing hearing and the judge as he awaits his sentence after being convicted PHOTO:REUTER

WASHINGTON:

Derek Chauvin has been transferred to a prison in Texas, the US Federal Bureau of Prisons said on Tuesday, nine months after the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the death of George Floyd survived a prison stabbing in Arizona.

Key quote

"We can confirm Derek Michael Chauvin was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Big Spring on August 20, 2024," a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in an emailed statement.

Why its important

Chauvin was stabbed about 22 times last year while incarcerated in Tucson, the U.S. Justice Department said in December. Chauvin was seriously injured but survived.

Chauvin is serving 22-1/2 years for murder after being convicted in April 2021 of killing Floyd, a verdict widely seen as a landmark rebuke of the disproportionate use of police force against Black Americans. He is concurrently serving a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights.

Context

Floyd's death in 2020 unleashed protests worldwide against police brutality and racism after Chauvin, who is white, knelt on the neck of the handcuffed Black man for more than eight minutes in a murder caught on cellphone video.

The suspect in Chauvin's stabbing was charged with attempted murder and other offenses.

Thomas Lane, a former Minneapolis officer convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the Floyd killing, was released from federal prison in Colorado on Tuesday after serving a sentence of over three years.