Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Friday to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, a killing that set off a wave of protests and prompted Silicon Valley leaders to address racial inequality. The sentencing followed Chauvin's April conviction on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The May 2020 killing galvanized a racial justice movement in the US as smartphone video of Floyd's fatal encounter with Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes, spread across the internet. Darnella Frazier, the teenager who captured the killing, was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for the video earlier this year.
The protests, some organized by Black Lives Matter, drew up to 26 million people globally and prompted business leaders to make unusually strong statements in response to calls for racial justice.
After Chauvin was found guilty in April, Microsoft President Brad Smith said that the "verdict is a step forward in acknowledging painful truths and for the continued cause of defeating racism and fighting discrimination." Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "this is part of a bigger struggle against racism and injustice." And Apple CEO Tim Cook called the verdict "just."
Read more: Silicon Valley leaders react to guilty verdict in Chauvin trial