Chauvin’s federal prison future in Floyd’s death
July 8, 2022 9:33AM CDT

FILE – Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin’s sentencing at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis June 25, 2021. A federal judge will sentence former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Thursday, July 7, 2022, for federal civil rights violations in the killing of George Floyd. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson on Tuesday, July 5, set Chauvin’s sentencing hearing for 2 p.m. Thursday in St. Paul. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is about to swap solitary confinement at Minnesota’s only maximum security prison for an unknown future at a federal prison. Experts say that despite Chauvin’s national notoriety for killing George Floyd, he probably will be safer at whatever federal prison he’s placed, and might have a bit more freedom there. Chauvin was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in prison on federal civil rights charges. He’s already serving 22 1/2 years for his conviction in state court on murder and manslaughter charges. Because of differences in parole eligibility in the state and federal systems, Chauvin will actually spend a few more years behind bars after Thursday’s sentence.