Derek Chauvin is reportedly close to reaching a plea deal on civil rights charges after being sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
According to CBS affiliate WCCO News, prosecutors are currently talking to the former Minneapolis cop and are working out a deal in the federal case against him.
If this deal is successful, it is theorized that Chauvin could end up with a 20-25 year-long sentence that he would serve concurrently with the state prison sentence he was handed last week.
WCCO reports that a part of this plea deal will include the 45-year-old ex-police officer explaining exactly what he did and why on the day of his victim's arrest and subsequent death by asphyxiation.
Former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Mary Moriarty spoke with the above publication on the subject of the deal, telling the news outlet that Chauvin’s guilty verdict in the earlier state case is likely to push him towards brokering a compromise.
Moriarty stated: "In federal court, there would be a substantial difference between what he would receive if he went to trial and was convicted versus what he would get if he pled guilty, and as they say, take responsibility for his actions."
Per CNN, Chauvin appeared to previously allude to the possibility of his making a deal prior to his sentence being imposed, stating to the court:
"Due to some additional legal matters at hand, I’m not able to really give a full formal statement at this time. Briefly, though, I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family."
Addressing Floyd's relatives, Chauvin added: "There's gonna be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope things will give you some peace of mind."
According to Minnesota district court documents, the former police officer's attorney, Eric Nelson, filed a motion on June 2 arguing that his sentence should be limited to include time already served in custody.
Nelson further argued that his client should be spared jail, owing to his reduced life expectancy as a former police officer with a pre-existing heart condition.
The lawyer wrote: "Mr. Chauvin's offense is best described as an error made in good faith reliance his own experience as a police officer and the training he had received – not [the] intentional commission of an illegal act."
The 45-year-old was found guilty by a jury of three counts of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter back in April.
Sky News reports that the maximum state sentence for second-degree unintentional murder is 40 years in prison under Minnesotan law. However, a federal conviction could land Chauvin with a life sentence.