The Daily Wire reported Tuesday, April 20, that a jury of six whites and six blacks or people of multiple races returned a verdict finding Shovan guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after deliberating for just two days and about 10 1/2 hours. Each verdict required jurors to find that Shovan’s actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death and that Shovan’s use of force was unreasonable.
The veteran police officer was expressionless as Judge Peter Cahill read the jury’s verdict.
Last May, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, brought in police for allegedly trading a fake $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market and resisted arrest as officers tried to put him in a police car, where they then lowered him to the ground. At the heart of the case is video of bystanders: Floyd repeatedly gasping, “I can’t breathe,” while bystanders yell for Shawn to stop as officers press their knees to or near Floyd’s neck in what authorities say was a 9 1/2-minute sequence. Floyd slowly fell silent and collapsed to the ground.
After sentencing, Shovan was taken away in handcuffs and the judge immediately revoked his bail pending sentencing and sent Shovan to Minnesota’s only maximum security prison, Oak Park Heights. According to the report, the 45-year-old Shovan faces a minimum of 12.5 years and a maximum of 40 years if he serves both sentences. If serving consecutive sentences, Shovan faces 29 to 75 years in prison.
Oak Park Heights prison, located 25 miles east of Minneapolis on the border with Wisconsin, houses some 500 of the nation’s most dangerous inmates, from which no inmate has ever escaped. Prison guards are keeping a close eye on Shawan to ensure his safety, because not only is he at risk of suicide, but other violent criminal inmates, disgruntled with law enforcement, could injure Shawan.
Jim Bruton, a former warden at Oak Park Heights, published a book on the prison in 2004 that describes a hierarchy among inmates, with those at the top, who have killed law enforcement officers; at the bottom, sex offenders, of which child molesters are considered the lowest. This hierarchy, coupled with Shawn’s notorious reputation as a police officer, meant that he was the one inmates vied to violate in order to gain status, and undoubtedly required increased protection and constant monitoring of Shawn.
Following the Floyd verdict, cheers rang out from the crowd gathered outside the courthouse, at the intersection of 38th and Chicago Streets, now known as Floyd Square, where the fatal arrest took place. Here, a crowd chanted, “One down, three to go!” It was a reference to three other fired Minneapolis police officers accused of aiding and abetting the murder in Floyd’s death who will face trial in August.
The specter of an appeal in Floyd’s case has loomed large, with Judge Cahill himself acknowledging on Monday that Councilwoman Maxine Waters may have given the defense “elements that could lead to the entire trial being overturned on appeal.
If Shawan’s lawyers plan to appeal, they must notify the trial court within 60 days. His attorneys then have several months to review the record and court documents from the beginning of the case to build their arguments.
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