Derek Chauvin’s sentencing on Friday, which was decided to be 22-and-a-half-years in prison, for the murder of George Floyd has garnered mixed reactions from users on social media. While many celebrate the momentous judgment others are critical as they expected the sentence to be at least 30 years in prison.
A Twitter user also drew parallels between the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American girl who was fatally shot by police officers in March last year.
Reacting to Chauvin’s two-decade-long sentence, one user wrote “Justice ain’t blind, she’s just winking at us…” in an attempt to highlight the alleged social injustice in America’s judicial systems.
On the other hand, the lead legal representation of Floyd’s Family Ben Crump wrote on Twitter after the “historic” sentence was passed by Judge Peter Cahill on Friday. He wrote, “22.5 YEARS! This historic sentence brings the Floyd family and our nation one step closer to healing by delivering closure and accountability.”
US President Joe Biden also reacted to the outcome of Friday’s hearing and said that he believed the sentence was “appropriate”.
Biden said, “I don’t know all the circumstances that were considered but it seems to me, under the guidelines, that seems to be appropriate”, reported AFP.