George Floyd‘s death sent shockwaves around the world after he was callously murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in a horrifying incident that was captured on camera.
The Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin George’s neck to the ground for nine and a half minutes as the victim pleaded, “I can’t breathe” on May 25, 2020.
The video footage was shared around the world and soon a wave of social justice protests followed, with the brutal murder forcing an international reckoning for police brutality and racism.
Chauvin was charged with murder and found guilty of three charges – second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22 years and six months behind bars.
Chauvin’s family, including his mother Carolyn Pawlenty, begged for mercy and Chauvin has appealed his sentence – but every plea has fallen on deaf ears and the disgraced police officer is set to spend most of his remaining days behind bars.
So what is Chauvin’s life like now, three years on from his vile crime?
It has been reported that the ex-cop has aged significantly, with his once fit and healthy appearance said to be a thing of the past.
According to a recent sighting, Chauvin’s hair has gone completely grey. In a further sign of his physical deterioration, he has been described as pale, with the Daily Mail reporting that he has also gained a large amount of weight.
And it appears that as a cop-turned-murderer, Chauvin might not be making many friends behind bars either.
One inmate went as far as to say that that best-case scenario was for the convicted officer to get “beaten up a lot”.
Hannabal Shaddai, 45, who is serving a life sentence, said that Chauvin won’t ever be safe in prison because of his former profession and the nature of his crime.
He told Paradox: “First of all, he’s a cop. Then he did what he did.
“So it’s not safe for him to be here. Best case scenario for him is he’s going to get beat up a lot. I don’t think he’s safe in any prison population.”
While he was awaiting sentencing, Chauvin was held in a maximum-security prison alongside notorious criminals, where he was placed on suicide watch.
The former police officer was taken straight to Oak Park Heights in Minnesota after he was found guilty of murder.
Chauvin had also reportedly been placed in a segregated unit – usually used for punishment – for his own safety.
According to the New York Times, the murderer was kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.
Reports say there is a camera in every cell at the 160-acre facility and the footage is continuously monitored by corrections officers.
Guards also carry out rounds and check on cells no less than every 30 minutes – although interaction with prisoners is minimal.
The prison is listed as one of the safest for high-risk offenders as the facility has never had an escape, and only one previous murder.
Such is its reputation, it was even featured on the TV show ‘America’s Hardest Prisons’.
Chauvin was said to be in a 7ft by 10ft cell and had to sleep on a thin mattress on top of a concrete slab, with a steel toilet to use.
Oak Park Heights, a ‘level five’ prison officially known as Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights, was built in 1982.
Home to up to 473 inmates, it houses some of Mississippi’s most dangerous criminals and “operates at the highest custody level”.
Prisoners are said to be allowed some items, such as a pen, paper and toothpaste.
Books and magazines can also be permitted in some circumstances – but must first be approved by the authorities.
It later was reported that Chauvin had been moved over safety concerns.
During the murder trial of George, his brother, Philonise Floyd, addressed the court before sentencing, saying the dying screams of his brother haunted his nightmares.
He asked the judge to sentence Chauvin to life in prison.
And Chauvin’s mother, Carolyn, also spoke out in court, insisting that her son had been wrongly maligned as racist.
She said: “Derek has played over and over in his head the events of that day. I’ve seen the toll it has taken on him. I believe a lengthy sentence will not serve Derek well.
“When you sentence my son, you will also be sentencing me. I will not be able to see Derek, talk to him on the phone or give him our special hug.
“My son’s identity has also been reduced to that as a racist. I want this court to know that none of these things are true and that my son is a good man.”
But Chauvin was convicted and handed a lengthy sentence, which he has since appealed.
In a January hearing, Chauvin’s attorney, William Mohrman, argued the trial judge should have moved the case out of Minneapolis because of extensive pretrial coverage.
Mr Mohrman said: “The primary issue on this appeal is whether a criminal defendant can get a fair trial consistent with constitutional requirements in a courthouse surrounded by concrete block, barbed wire, two armoured personnel carriers, and a squad of National Guard troops, all of which or whom are there for one purpose: in the event that the jury acquits the defendant.”
But Neal Katyal, a special attorney for the state, argued that Chauvin got “one of the most transparent and thorough trials in our nation’s history… Chauvin’s many arguments before this court do not come close to justifying reversal.”
“Judge Cahill managed this trial with enormous care, and even if Chauvin could identify some minor fault, any error is harmless. The evidence of Chauvin’s guilt was captured on video for the world to see.”
He pleaded guilty to violating Geroge’s civil rights and was given a concurrent federal term of 21 years.
He also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and admitted he didn’t file Minnesota income taxes for two years due to “financial concerns”.
He appeared in the Minnesota court via Zoom from a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, wearing prison overalls, and paced around the room before Washington County Judge Sheridan Hawley gave him another 13-month sentence.
However, he was given credit for time served.
