What Does the ‘Second-Degree Murder’ Charge Mean in George Floyd’s Case

New criminal charges have been filed in the case of George Floyd’s death, a Black man who died last week while in Minneapolis police custody in Minnesota.

Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Attorney General, on Wednesday charged Derek Chauvin, the white police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck while Floyd said he could not breathe, with second-degree murder. This is a more serious charge than the third-degree murder charge that Chauvin previously faced.

Keith Ellison also charged Tou Thao, Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, three other officers who were present at the scene on May 25 and did not intervene, with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. All four officers were immediately fired following Floyd’s death, but only Chauvin had been charged with a crime.

Floyd’s death sparked waves of protests across the United States and in other cities around the world.

Ben Crump, the Floyd family’s attorney, said before the new charges were filed on Wednesday: “We are seeking justice. We expect all four police officers to be arrested before the memorial service in Minneapolis.”

Third-degree murder means the unintentional killing of a person and an act that is not part of the commission of another crime.

Second-degree murder is generally defined as intentional killing that lacks premeditation. A person convicted of second-degree murder has shown extreme indifference to human life. All murder convictions in the United States can result in sentences of decades in prison, but this is not necessarily always the case.

Source: Voice of America