A jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (opens in new tab) guilty on all counts of murdering George Floyd (opens in new tab) last May, sparking a nationwide protest movement (opens in new tab) against police brutality and anti-black violence Sentenced.

The jury, consisting of seven women and five men, reached its verdict after three weeks of witness testimony and about 10 hours of deliberations beginning Monday.

Shovin, who knelt at Floyd's neck for nine and a half minutes, was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The most serious of these charges (opens in new tab) is second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.

The prosecution needed to argue that Shovin assaulted Floyd and that this assault played a substantial role in Floyd's death, particularly his death from asphyxiation due to hypoxia. The defense, on the other hand, argued that Floyd's drug use and pre-existing heart conditions contributed to his death.

Shovin had previously agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder, a charge that could have carried a sentence of more than 10 years in prison, days after Floyd's death, but then-Attorney General William Barr feared that the growing swell of protest movements across the country would consider the deal too lenient, rejected the plea deal (opens in new tab).

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last Memorial Day after a convenience store clerk called police on suspicion that a customer had used counterfeit money. Three officers arrived on the scene and pinned Floyd to the ground and handcuffed him. A white officer, Shovin, then knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. In video footage taken by a bystander, Floyd was heard saying, "Officer, I can't breathe."