Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the death of George Floyd

Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who killed George Floyd on a Minneapolis street in the US last year has been sentenced to 22 and half years in prison.

Chauvin spoke briefly before the sentence was imposed, offering his condolences to the Floyd family.

Under Minnesota law, Chauvin will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence or 15 years, and he will be eligible for supervised release for the remaining seven and a half years.

The 45-year-old was convicted in April on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his role in Floyd's death.

At the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis, where Floyd took his last breaths, people watched the hearing on mobile phones.

Floyd's sister, Bridgett, who founded the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, said in a statement that the sentence "shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously.

She added however they have a long way to go and many changes to make before Black and Brown people finally feel like they are being treated fairly and humanely by law enforcement in the US.

[Source: CNN]