Derek Chauvin's lawyer has asked a judge to limit his prison sentence for the murder of George Floyd to time-served.
Per Daily Mail, this plea for leniency from Chauvin's defense team to Judge Peter Cahill follows a push by the prosecution for a sentence of 30 years in prison.
However, court documents obtained by the above publication show that Eric Nelson, the attorney of the 45-year-old former cop, argued that his client deserved a probationary sentence.
Watch this news report on Chauvin's conviction in the video below:On Wednesday, June 2, Nelson filed a motion with Hennepin County District Court asserted that Chauvin committed an "error" when he killed Floyd during his arrest in May of 2020.
In his motion, Nelson stated:
"In his mind, he was simply performing his lawful duty in assisting other officers in the arrest of George Floyd. Mr. Chauvin's is not a typical case in which a person commits an assault that results in the death of another.
"It is clear from Mr. Chauvin's actions had he believed he was committing a crime, as a licensed police officer, Mr. Chauvin simply would not have done so."
Nelson added: "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."
He went on to assert that Chauvin's age and heart condition made him extremely vulnerable, and added that his status as a former police officer, coupled with his own notoriety, posed a clear risk to his safety while incarcerated.
Per Daily Beast, on Wednesday, May 12, Judge Cahill ruled that there were a number of aggravating factors to consider in the case.
These included Chauvin's abuse of his authority, the fact that children were present at the time of Floyd's death, and Chauvin incited a group crime that involved at least three people
Judge Cahill wrote that Chauvin "further abused his position of truth and authority by not rendering aid, by declining two suggestions from one of his fellow officers to place George Floyd on his side, and by preventing bystanders, including an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter, from assisting."
Chauvin is due to be sentenced on June 25 after being found guilty in April of three counts of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the Floyd trial.