Derek Chauvin’s sentencing isn’t sitting well within Tina Knowles-Lawson‘s soul, and she isn’t holding her tongue about it.
On Friday, June 25, Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years, 7.5 years less than the 30 years prosecutors were pushing for, and granted time served for the 199 days he has already spent behind bars. While many were rejoicing the news, Tina Knowles-Lawson, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, wasted no time sharing her disapproval of the amount of time Chauvin will serve for his crime. She highlighted the injustice of the situation by sharing her unnamed godson’s comparable sentencing for a much lesser crime.
“Very Disappointing! ! My Godson was sentenced to 20 years for 2 ounces of marijuana he has been In Jail for 11 years, she shared in an Instagram post. “This man convicted of three charges He Murdered This man on TV before the world. And will only serve 15 ! The system has to change!”
According to a 2020 analysis completed by the American Civil Liberties Union, even with it becoming legalized in more states, there were six million marijuana-related arrests between 2010 and 2018, and “Black people are still more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people in every state, including those that have legalized marijuana.” In fact, they found that on average, “a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates.”
Fans largely sided with Ms. Tina, agreeing that justice was not served with regards to Chauvin’s sentencing, although there were those who felt that a cop being sentenced for killing a Black man at all is worthy of celebration.
“I agree, people who have drug charges have more time this makes no sense!”
“She’s telling the truth! They have locked Black people up for longer for far less and non violent crimes. Ridiculous”
“I agree he should have gotten more but it’s a start to a change !”
George Floyd’s brother, Philonise, acknowledged that while Chauvin is being held accountable for his crime, he still feels that the 22.5 years is just “a slap on the wrist.”
“I just think he should have received the maximum amount,” Floyd told NPR. “This is just accountability. I think this was a slap on the wrist. And, you know, a lot of people are looking at this, and they want to know what’s going on with America. But at the same time, he did get sentenced, so that was a good thing. But that was basically one of the things that the world has watched all over again. We never thought that we’d have a police officer even get time in jail like this.”
The Floyd family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, shared on social media that he believes the sentencing is “a step in the right direction,” and reminded followers that federal charges have not been handed down yet. “22.5 YEARS! This historic sentence brings the Floyd family and our nation one step closer to healing by delivering closure and accountability. And the Federal Charges are still pending.”
