0 want to -- i've spoken to debbie w wasserman schultz, and i promise you the administration, the congress are doing everything to be of assistance now and after this occurs. after they decide exactly what the state of play is. but i'm glad to welcome everyone here to the adjunct to the white house here, in-person and virtually. survivors and family members, victims and the path breaking leaders like senator baldwin, just over five years ago, the pulse nightclub, a place of acceptance and joy, became a place of unspeakable pain and loss. and we'll never fully recover, but we'll remember, and we have to -- what we're going to do is with the members of congress here did, enshrine in law, as a consequence of that law, enshrine in perpetuity a literal monument to the loss that occurred there and an absolute determination that we're going to deal with this every single solitary day, and make sure that we're not in a position to see this happen again. behind me, you see on either board there the 49 lives lost, family members, parents, friends, veterans, students, young, black, asian, latino, all fellow americans, and in their memory, and from the countless others forever scarred is why i sign this today, and let me say how much i appreciate -- and i mean this sincerely -- the commitment of the members of the house and the senate to make sure that we don't forget, that this isn't forgotten. there's a tradition when a bill is signed that the president gives a signing pen to each of the people who had something to do with the law or the decision being made in the first place. i promise you, i have all the pens put together. i couldn't figure out how to sign them all but don't leave without the pen, okay? all right? all right. >> thank you, mr. president. >> may we never have to sign -- no president have to sign another monument like this. thank you. one last thing. as i said to the survivors and their -- those who lost folks, little earlier, in private, you know, what the congress has done means a great deal, and it's important. but it's really hard. it brings back everything as if it happened yesterday. and every time there's a memorial service for our son, beau, or, you know, you're flattered, you feel good about it, you think it's wonderful, the recognition, but it's tough. it's as if it happened yesterday. it happened the day before. it happened the moment you're signing it. so, i want to thank the folks who are here and the folks who are survivors on zoom with us. i want to thank them for their courage, and i really mean it, for their courage, but i promise you, none of the members of congress that are here nor i nor jill are going let up until we deal with equity across the board. thank you so much. >> thank you, mr. president. >> all right, you've been listening to president biden there from the white house signing the legislation to make the pulse nightclub site a national memorial. thank you for being with me, i'm victor blackwell. alisyn has the day off. there's a lot going on, a lot of breaking news happening in this hour. you saw the president there just sign that bill. we're expecting to hear from him again in just a few moments from the east room of the white house. he is going to be with the secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg. we're also expecting a news conference from miami dade police department on that building collapse in surfside, california, the latest numbers we have, 159 people still unaccounted for, 4 dead at this time. as soon as this starts, we will bring that to you as well. and in about 25 minutes from now, derek chauvin, you know, the former minneapolis police officer who murdered george floyd, he will learn his sentence for the crimes that he was convicted of this past april. he was taken away in handcuffs. you remember the video. second-degree unintentional murder, second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder, the highest count carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. now, today, hennepin county judge peter cahill denied chauvin's motion for a new trial. his defense team argued there was prosecutorial and jury misconduct in april. they will likely take those same arguments to an appeals court. but for now, the sentencing will go on. again, that's happening in just a few minutes. let's go now to cnn's omar jimenez outside of that courthouse. cnn's sara sidner is there at the intersection where george floyd was killed. omar, first, to you, what can we expect to see in the courtroom today? >> well, in a few minutes, when things get going, victor, we're going to hear from a number of parties, mainly we're going to hear from prosecutors and the defense on what they feel should happen when it comes to derek chauvin's sentence, and we've already gotten a few clues of that based on things they've filed. for example, prosecutors want derek chauvin to get 30 years in prison for murdering george floyd, while the defense wants probation and time served or at the very least, a sentence below the lower end of the state sentencing guidelines. now, there's a lot of talk, of course, of the up to 40 years he could face. that's not likely to happen because he has no criminal history that range is going to be a lot lower. but the crucial component to this comes down to what the judge ruled on last month, basically saying that he ruled in favor of a number of factors known as aggravating factors, which bumps the level up, which makes it -- which makes it to the point where he would get more than what the state sentencing guidelines lay out. now, on top of the arguments, we're going to hear from, likely, the george floyd family about how this murder has impacted them over the past 13 months. we could also hear from derek chauvin who has been silent over the course of all of these criminal proceedings, and we'll also hear from the judge, his opinion on this case that we have also gotten little clues of leading up until this point. once it's over, you mentioned the request for a new trial was denied. he'll have 90 days to appeal, and under minnesota state guidelines, he would only serve two-thirds of the sentence that he gets today in prison and he'll be eligible for a supervised release of the final third but at the end of the day, this is a chapter -- the close to a chapter, i should say, that has been a long time coming for people, not just in this community but for people tuning in from across the world. >> all right, omar, stand by. let me go to sara now there outside of cup foods. you've been in close contact with the floyd family, also members of the community. what are you hearing? >> reporter: so, here in the community right now, things are very calm. i will tell you that yesterday, we saw terrance floyd come here. he met the man who created this community garden here, and he was so very thankful that it was still here. there has been a lot of controversy about george floyd square, the blocking of the streets. those streets, you can see the cars running around now, have been reopened, but they decided that they were going to leave this community garden here, kind of as a round about for now and you can see they've put the barricades now around where george floyd was killed. i do want to let you hear from terrance floyd, because i asked him if he could have a conversation with derek chauvin, a conversation in which terrance floyd said he wanted to have. here is what he said he would say to him if he could speak to him face-to-face. >> what's wrong with you, man? suppose i would have did that to your brother. how would this situation look right now? suppose i would have did that to your son. suppose i would have did that to your cousin. every part of the family that he was to us, suppose i would have did that to your side. how would you look at me? how would you view me? what would you want me to say? how would you react? but you know what? i'm not going to react like that. >> reporter: you mean in anger? >> yes. i'm going to show you who my brother really is, because like i said, that's my father's namesake. i'm going to show you who my brother is, who my father is. also, i'm going to show you who i am. i'm a man. i'm a black man. i'm strong. i'm intelligent. and i don't have to act like an animal. but i'm going to let you know my feelings. i don't like it. i love you. but i don't like you. >> reporter: you would actually say to derek chauvin, i love you, but i don't like you? >> yes. yes. because guess what? that's how we were raised. we're god-fearing family. you know? and we cannot -- we cannot -- we can fight for justice, we can fight for what we want, but we cannot move on with hate in our heart. >> reporter: and there you have it, as far as the sentence and what he is hoping and he said this comes from his heart, he says, look, it can't be a slap on the wrist. he said, that would not be justice. he said if the sentencing guidelines say between 12 and 15 years, then let it be so, but he said if it's anything less than that, there will be upset in the family. >> that is remarkable that he says, i love you, but i don't like you. to be able to show that even in this moment. sara sidner for us there outside of cup foods. omar jimenez outside the courtroom. thank you both. stand by. let's go to cnn's senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor elli honig. >> here's what we're going to see in the courtroom today. first of all, we will hear legal arguments by the lawyers for both parties. both sides have already put in their briefs, so these arguments should be concise, right to the point. then, we will hear, and this will be the dramatic high point, we will hear testimony from the victims' family, from the family members of george floyd. expect that to be very dramatic. derek chauvin will have the opportunity to speak. will he speak? we don't know. a lot of times, defendants speak and express remorse and ask for mercy. howe however, in a case like this where there's an appeal and several more indictments pending against derek chauvin, he may choose not to speak and then finally the judge will pronounce the actual sentence on derek chauvin. >> up to 40 years for chauvin. that's the max. what's the judge likely to consider, and what do you expect this will go? >> so, minnesota has a sentencing guideline system, and that sends the presumptive sentence at 12 and a half years. however, that's only a starting point for today because the judge has found four different aggravating factors that enable him to give a higher sentence. first of all, the judge found that derek chauvin acted with particular cruelty towards george floyd. second, the judge found that derek chauvin abused his position of official trust and authority as a police officer. third, the judge found that the offense was committed in the presence of minors. we heard some of those minors testify at the trial. and finally, the judge found that the offense was committed with at least three other participants relating to the other police officers in this case. now, the prosecution has asked for a 30-year sentence. the defense has asked for a sentence of time served and probation. what that means, as a practical matter, if they get their way, is derek chauvin will walk free today. that is not going to happen. the judge is going to come down somewhere between those poles, and remember, this is important, whatever the final number is for this sentence, for derek chauvin today, he will presumptively serve two-thirds of that time behind bars. >> so, we know this is not the end for derek chauvin. also there are the three other officers who have been charged. what's next over the next several months? >> derek chauvin still has two more pending federal indictments against him. one of those charges him with the murder of george floyd. the other one relates to an incident where derek chauvin assaulted a 14-year-old with a flashlight, and of course the three other police officers still are facing both state charges and federal charges. the state charges have been put off until 2022. the federal kmcharges, we still don't have a trial date. they're going to be watching what happens closely, because they're not going to get as much time as derek chauvin but presumably they're going to get some percentage of the time he gets today. >> we're a little bit more than 15 minutes out from the start of procedures as they're scheduled today, of course, these can float a bit because of what's happening there in minneapolis. let's go to van jones. cnn senior legal analyst laura coates, and senior law enforcement analyst charles ramsey. laura, let me come first to you. your expectation of the time that chauvin will be sentenced with today. >> i think it will most certainly be more than 12 and a half years, and here's why. remember, there's another minneapolis police officer, now a former minneapolis police officer, mohamed noor, who shot his weapon out and killed a woman by the name of justine diamond when he shot one shot into an alley. he's serving 12 and a half years, i believe, in prison at this time. you compare that and contrast that to the type of crime that was committed here. what the jury was able to see, the evidence that came in that still star witness of the video that was captured by the then-minor to show the world what actually happened, which was in stark contrast, victor, to what the initial police report said. if you compare a shot in the dark compared to somebody who is kneeling on somebody's neck for nearly 9 minutes, you can see that a judge is going to look at both of those cases in a way that shows that one is perhaps even more egregious, if you're actually going to value human life, of course, and we note that justine diamond's life was valuable as well. but the idea -- >> laura, i have to interrupt you. we've got to go to south florida. governor ron desantis is speaking about that building collapse in surfside. >> helping the people that have been displaced. unfortunately, a lot of people that got out of that building, they don't have a home anymore, so the efforts of the community have really been fantastic. i know there's a couple charities that we have been telling people about. they've been getting a lot of support. we were also fortunate to get support from fema to provide individual assistance to people who have been impacted. we typically would not probably with this hit the threshold, of course, you can waive that, the biden administration waived that minimum threshold, and is stepping up to the plate, was able to speak to the fema director last night. she's been great, wants to be helpful, and then i just spoke about an hour ago with president biden, and he reiterated his administration's full support. they're all in. and so we really appreciate having the support of the president and the people of florida. really appreciate the president and his administration stepping up to help people who are in need. we're fortunate about these relief efforts on the private sector. i just spoke with one of our great companies here in florida, and their c.o., stuart miller, they're doing a million dollars for the relief efforts. and we have people from all across the country that are donating money to be able to help for both -- we have the one at the schul and then you also have the one here for the surfside relief fund. both of those are great. we're going to be supporting both of them with some of our stuff and i would just urge people to help out with that. we've worked very closely with the mayor in addition to working with the federal government as needs arise. the state's here to help and the federal government's also here and so we feel like we have all hands on deck to be able to assist with the search and rescue mission and obviously help people who have been displaced and help the families who have loved ones that are unaccounted for. when tragedy strikes, it's a very difficult thing in any circumstance, but speaking with a lot of these family members, when they're unaccounted for, it's really, really difficult thing because they just don't know and i know that first responders are working round the clock to be able to get all those answers and to save as many lives as they can, but this has been a really, really difficult thing, and so i just thank the community for really coming together, both here in surfside, miami dade and really throughout florida and throughout the country. we really appreciate that. i've also been talking with the mayor, and we both agree, we need a definitive explanation for how this could have happened, and that's an explanation that needs to be an accurate explanation. it's an explanation that, you know, we don't want to get wrong, obviously, by at the same time, i do think it's important that it's timely because you have a lot of families here. you have families that lost loved ones in this building collapse. they have a right to know. you have other folks who were able to get out safely but then lost their homes. when we were walking out, one of the things that they were cleaning up were all the family photos that would be strewn around, and so they have a right to know as well. and then i think there's a lot of other people throughout this community and really throughout florida who want to know, well, how could a building just collapse like that? and so, i think it's a really important thing and so we've said whatever the local efforts are under way with that, the state will support whatever we can to do this right but also to do it timely so that we get the answers to the families and that we get the answer to the people of florida. and so, they have our support for that. and when i spoke with the president, he indicated if we need support on that investigatory end, they would send personnel as well. so thanks to everybody who stepped up. we have a lot of heroes in our midst here over the last day and a half, and god bless them and also just thank people who have sent their thoughts and prayers and have made donations. i think that when you see something like this, it really is a unique type of tragedy to have in the middle of the night, a half of a building just collapse like that. and it's tough. it's been gut-wrenching for an awful lot of people but nobody is quitting here, and we are going to stand by those families and we're going to stand by everyone that's been displaced. you can guarantee that. mayor? >> thank you, governor . >> now miami dade county mayor. >> thank you so much. thank you, governor. thank you to our chairman, our commissioners, to our local electeds, this has been an extraordinary day and a half, and i want to start by saying that our hearts are with our first responders who have been going in, desperately seeking people, motivated to find them, hopeful that they will find them, and confident that their efforts will pay off. and to the families who are suffering and waiting and wondering, wanting news of their loved ones, our hearts are with you. we are going to work as hard as we possibly can, leave no stone unturned, and you can see the activity. these first responders are going in through tunnels. they're working from the top. they're working from the bottom. it has to be done very, very carefully. they can't dislodge pieces of debris that could injure them in the process. they can't dislodge debris that could possibly make it more difficult to continue the search. so, we are fully, fully behind them as they do this daring and brave work, and we are making sure that they are safe so that they can continue these efforts. i want to say as well that these are the best first responders in the world. these are the ones that are sent to trouble spots. they've been to 9/11. they've been to haiti. they've been wherever there is a disaster, and they are bringing that expertise to bear right here for our residents, for our visitors in surfside. so, while we continue to do everything we can locally and with the support of all of these jurisdictions, we are so grateful that fema has come to our side. we have this extraordinary decision by president biden to move those dollars and that support forward expeditiously, waiving the minimum amount that has to be generated before the support will kick in, and with the emergency declaration by our governor, we're able to move forward, so this is very, very important. it's important to our search and rescue efforts. it's important to our rubble, debris removal. it's critical for the families who are going to need help in the long term as they recover. so, i think you all know the numbers have not changed since the morning. we have 127 people that are accounted for. 159 that have been identified as possibly being on the site, unaccounted for. and we have four, sadly, who we have lost, and we will be burying. so, we are now providing briefings to the waiting families every four hours. and the family reunification center, they are getting detailed descriptions of the operation so they can really understand what's at stake and how critical it is that we proceed cautiously and that they have patience. we're very grateful to everyone who's contributed, lenar corporation, that's extraordinary. we've set up a fund that's already generated $100,000 from donations, and we welcome that support. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> all right, you've been listening to the mayor of surfside, daniella levine cava there, miami dade as well. let's bring in cnn anchor chris cuomo. if we have you in front of a camera, we've got the split screen here of mayor cava on one side. on the other side, we had the video of the search. and they have battled fire, water, smoke, rain in this search. all right, we have got more. >> giving us the ability to do the work that we're doing, and for everything that's working out for us. besides that, impa want to star out with our president and say thank you to him and his whole team and everything that's involved on the federal side, including our senators have called in and been here and of course our congressional people. also, i want to thank publicly, governor, thank you. thank you for being here. thank you for finding the companies that are willing to donate and put their part in to helping and that's incredible. on behalf of county commission, we all want to thank you and your team. besides that, mayor, thank you for the work you're doing. as far as my colleagues too, we are all working together as a community to do the very best we can. we are blessed that we have the best team, one of the best teams in the world. you saw our fire team that is constantly working since the moment this started, and they continue on. they do not stop. they work around the clock, in the rain, in the lightning, and small fires have taken place. they haven't stopped searching, and they'll continue to do so. this is the kind of people that really step up to the plate when the problem is happening, ever everybody's running in one direction, they're running into the problem. so, we're blessed to have these kind of people within our community and doing what they're doing for all of us. to the families, our heart goes out to them. they just want to see or hear of a solution and hope for the best for their family members. our people are working as hard as they can to try to find their loved ones, and trust me, they're putting their lives in peril to get to try to make that happen. and we're very proud of them and very thankful for them. and that is something that's very important to be said. and to the community out there that is giving so much, that's constantly donating and helping those first responders who are here working tirelessly, and so much in donations, we want to thank them too. thank you to so many around the nation and around the world that have expressed help to help us with this situation. nobody thought that this could happen here in miami beach. but ladies and gentlemen, we will know, as the governor said, and as the mayor said, what took place, how it happened, and so this will never happen again within our community. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> chris, i may have to interrupt you again, but i was bringing you in on the delicate nature of this search that we're watching on the right side of the screen. a team who's executing this, you know them well. >> yes. we are fortunate to have experience with one of the task force teams, the one that is currently leading the search and rescue efforts. florida is very fortunate to have multiple federally-trained search and rescue teams here at its disposal, and it's been revolving them here now, and that is why so many are correctly praising the efforts of the first responders. that doesn't mean that you're going to have progress that correlates with their level of professionalism. this is a very difficult job, and it's been made much more difficult as you referred to earlier, not by what has happened but what is happening right now. over my shoulder, you see that there's a lot of smoke coming out of the building because as the heavy bands of rain came, that suppressed the effort to fight a fire that's burning inside, allowing it to get more fuel, to continue to go, and now they're trying to contain it. here is the best optimism for the moment in terms of the process. i'll give it to you right after we listen in to what's being said right now in the press conference. >> it's like this. it's like having a governor who steps up and steps in. it's having a president who cares and leads with his heart. it's having a mayor who's out here tirelessly, a chairman and commission that all stand together. people all over this county, people all over this country actually praying. this is independent of the rain and the overcast, i understand how dark this day is. i understand the possibility exists that it gets darker. that it gets sadder. but we have to always understand that we can get through anything together, and that's this. we wrap ourselves around those families with our resources and our love and our effort and our work, because we're going to keep working and we're going to keep praying. that's what this community does. that's what's gotten us through hurricanes. that's what's gotten us through every tragedy we've ever experienced. our togetherness, our sense of community. i'm happy to have a president, a governor, a chairman of the county commission, we understand that. it's important that you all understand that. understand your role in this. if you can hear my voice, give, please, donate. help these families. but most of all, please pray. please pray. look, my dad was a baptist pastor, the fervent prayers of the righteous avail much. if we actually all believe and pray, it can do something for us. how do i say that in spanish? [ speaking foreign language ] >> there you go. all right. >> thank you, vice chairman. and now commissioner regolar. [ speaking foreign language ] >> all right, chris, continue your thought as we just got that message of continuing to pray for this community, says that, yes, this is a dark day, but you need to wrap yourself, this community wrapping themselves around these victims. continue it. >> you're absolutely right, victor. we're seeing the challenge. >> chris, i got to interrupt you now. more breaking news, we're going to minneapolis, this is judge cahill in the sentencing of derek chauvin. >> your honor, attorney general on behalf. >> for the defense? >> good afternoon, your honor, eric nelson and amy appearing on behalf of mr. chauvin. >> all right. thank you. we are still, for all those attending, under somewhat modified covid restrictions so we are asking that everyone keep their masks on unless they are speaking. i'll ask for people who are speaking to come up to the lectern and use the microphones and please remove your mask so we can hear you clearly. and also, to maintain the distances that we have set out in the courtroom. with that, we'll proceed first with the state. mr. blackwell, you may proceed with victim input. >> your honor, we have four victim impact statements. we will start with the 7-year-old daughter of george floyd, gianna floyd, who will present hers by video. >> what do you miss most about your daddy? >> well, i ask about him all the time. and that's kind of it. >> yeah? well, when you ask about him, what are you asking about? >> well, i was asking how did my dad get hurt? >> do you wish that he was still here with us? >> yeah. but he is. >> through his spirit? >> yes. >> yes. and when you see your daddy again one day, what do you want to do when you see him? >> i want to play with him. >> what kind of games do you want to play with him? >> i want to play with him, have fun, go on a plane ride, and that's it. >> yeah? >> we used to have dinner meals every single night before we went to bed. my daddy always used to help me brush my teeth. >> oh. do you miss him helping brush your teeth? >> yes. >> how do you hope that the world remembers him? >> well, they help him because those mean people did something to him. >> yeah. if you could say anything to your daddy right now, what would it be? >> it would be, i miss you and i love you. >> all right. thank you, gianna. i really appreciate you answering questions today. >> that was gianna floyd. your honor, next we'll hear from the nephew of george floyd, brandon williams. >> mr. williams. >> give us your full name and spelling. >> brandon williams b r-a-n-d-o-n, w-i-l-l-i-a-m-s. >> thank you. you may proceed. >> on monday, may 25, 2020, george p. floyd jr. was murdered by derek chauvin. in a malicious and insidious display of hate and abuse of power. chauvin killed george, not only did he kill george, but he also displayed a total lack of consideration for human life as he did so. you saw it. i saw it. and millions of people across the country and the globe witnessed the act of hate. a year and one month later, i stand here before you, tasked with the duty of expressing how george's death has impacted me personally and the rest of our family. as i rack my brain and thought about what i could say today, i came to this conclusion. it is humanly impossible for me to stand here and convey or articulate the right words that would capture all that we are feeling and what we have felt over this period, so please bear with me as i attempt the impossible. the sudden murder of george has forever traumatized us. you may see us cry, but the full extent of our pain and trauma will never be seen with the naked eye. the heartbreak and hurt goes far beyond any number of tears we could ever cry. words simply cannot express the pain, anguish, and suffering that our family and friends have endured since george's murder. it has been truly unimaginable. but not nearly as unimaginable as the defendant's decision to take the life of a human being with no regard for the effect it may have on others. all those chauvin will be seen today and spend time in prison, he will have the luxury of seeing his family again. talking to them. he will likely get to spend time with them upon his release. these are all luxuries that my young cousin gianna was robbed of when chauvin made the active decision to kill her father. there will be no more birthday parties, no graduations, holiday gatherings, or other family celebrations. the laughter, hugs, guidance, advice, sense of security and those opportunities to simply say i love you are forever gone. they say time heals all, and while i generally believe that saying, it's challenging to do so given these unfathomable set of circumstances. before i conclude, i must highlight a few things. george's murder, this trial and everything in between has been tragic and devastating. our family is forever broken. and one thing we cannot get back is george floyd. it is the request of my family that the maximum penalty for the crime for which the defendant was convicted be imposed. an behalf of my family, friends, community, and supporters, i wish to express my sincerest gratitude for allowing us this opportunity of expression. thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> your honor, just for the record, this wonderful lady standing here is a hennepin county victim advocate. >> she is well known to the court. >> yes. thank you, judge. >> and so, your honor, we'll next hear from the brother of george floyd, mr. terrence floyd. >> mr. floyd, if you could state your full name, spelling oveeach of your names. >> yes. terrence floyd, t-e r r-e-n-c-e, f-l-o-y-d. >> go ahead. >> i'm here representing my brother. i'm from new york. on may 25, 2020, my brother was murdered. everyone knows by derek chauvin. the facts of this case were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and three guilty verdicts have been rendered. the situation has really affected me and my family. >> take your time. >> any family member that has went through this, we are part of a fraternity of families, and it's not one of those, you know, fraternities that you enjoy. i just, over this last year and months, i actually talked to a few people, and i wanted to know from the man himself why. what were you think? what was going through your head? when you had your knee on my brother's neck. why -- when you knew that he posed no threat anymore, he was handcuffed, why you didn't at least get up? why you stayed there? >> take your time. >> a month before my brother was murdered, i was on the phone with him, and we had a long conversation, and as i looked at the video of my niece, the last conversation me and my brother had was he wanted to have play dates. he wanted to plan play dates with gianna and my daughter. at least we started setting it up. that can't happen. and my daughter's still young, but i still have to explain to her, because this is history. this is a case everybody knows about. so, she's going to find out, and i'm going to have to explain that to her. and i think that's, to me, harder than even just standing here, that i have to talk to my daughter and tell her, you know, about her niece, about her uncle, about the situation. that's basically reliving it all over again, years down the lean line. i'm here on behalf of my family, of me, on -- sorry. >> it's okay. take your time. >> on behalf of me and my family, we seek the maximum penalty. we don't want to see no more slaps on the wrist. we've been through that already. and my community and my culture, we've been through that already, smacked on the wrist, no, no, no, no. because if it was us, if the roles was reversed, there wouldn't be no case. it would have been open and shut. we'd have been under the jail. for murdering somebody. so, we ask for that same penalty for derek chauvin. thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> your honor, the final victim impact statement for the state will come from george floyd's brother, philonise floyd . >> and sir, if you could begin by giving us your full name and spell each of your names, and i have permitted you to use your phone because you have notes on it, is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> all right. and you may proceed when you're ready, giving us your full name first. >> philonise floyd, spelled p-h-i-l-o-n-i-s-e, last name floyd, f-l-o-y-d. >> and you may proceed. >> one year ago, may 25, my brother, george, was murdered by derek chauvin and his codefendants in broad daylight with a knee to his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. i was a trucker and immediately, my life changed forever. i began to speak to the world for george in front of the united nations, africa, canada, japan, and so many other countries. every day, i have begged for justice to be served, reliving the execution of george while others begged and pleaded for officer chauvin to simply just allow george to take a breath. i haven't had a real night's sleep because of the nightmares i constantly have, hearing my brother beg and plead for his life over and over again. even saying, they're going to kill me, please, officer, screaming for our mom. i have had to sit through each day of officer derek chauvin's trial and watch the video of george dying for hours, over and over again. for an entire year, i had to relive george being tortured to death every hour of the day, only taking naps and not knowing what a good night's sleep is anymore. i've been lifting my voice, tirelessly, every day so that george's death will not be in vain. honorable judge peter cahill, i thank you for allowing me to share this today. george's life mattered. so, my family and i, most of all, my niece, gianna -- my niece, gianna, she needs closure. i'm asking that you please find it suitable to give officer chauvin the maximum sentence possible, charge that he has been found guilty for. my family and i have been given a life sentence. we will never be able to get george back. daddies are a daughter's first love. he will never be able to walk gianna down the aisle in her wedding, attend those magical moments of her life like a daddy-daughter dance, sweet 16 party, seeing her out for prom, graduations, and she will never be able to have any personal memories with her father. with a smirk on his face and children present, officer chauvin used excessive force and acted against his training. chauvin had no regard for human life, george's life. i stand before you today, asking you to please help us find closure by giving chauvin the maximum sentence possible, making sure he does his time consecutively without the possibility of parole, probation, or getting out early for good behavior. thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> thank you, your honor. here today, of course, for sentencing gives us an opportunity to speak about, you know, other matters that i think are involved in sentencing and where we are in the criminal justice system and the processing of this case. as a -- as a member of an elected office, representing the people of the state of minnesota as well as the people of the local community, i want to say a couple of things. and first of all, i want to really thank some of the police officers in the minneapolis police department who, under great pressure, great stress, to some extent, apparent to their occupations, what they have devoted their life to, stuck to their oath and their commitment as police officers to speak openly and honestly about policing and the training that is given and received by police officers. those officers didn't hide behind a blue wall. they came forward. they told this court and those jurors what they knew about training and responsibility. and i think they deserve recognition and credit for that. i would also like to thank members of the bureau of criminal those agents get called in. things happen. they did that here and under really extraordinary circumstances completed a professional and thorough investigation. conducting interviews is hard enough but conducting them in the atmosphere of the city following the murder of george floyd was even more difficult, and they did so, i think, above and beyond the call of duty. i want to thank them for doing that on behalf of the whole prosecution staff. your honor, i want to thank the family, the loved ones, the friends of george floyd. they have been through so much more than families involved in murder cases. he's right. it is a fraternity you don't want to be part of. they've been through so much more because of the pandemic and because of security, safety precautions that we've had to take. they have been through a lot. at a time when they try to grieve, like everybody does for the loss of someone, they are going through so much more. i want to thank them, all of them, the family, court saw testimony from floyd, courtney ross. these are people trying to deal with their loss but they have to do it very publicly and under very trying circumstances through no fault of their own. i thank them. they have all been models of grace and understanding. it's really remarkable, quite frankly. i'll come back to them in a little bit. we have submitted a sentencing brief. i think there's things i want to bring out today in my arguments. for hundreds of years, the court had discretion in sentencing. it was the trial court's decision in what the sentence should be. the recognition that the trial court sat through the trial, watched the evidence and saw how it affected people. informed the court's discretion. legislature passed the guidelines in a legitimate attempt to try to even out sentences, they defined certain presumptive sentences for typical crimes. they did not remove discretion for sentencing judges. they recognized that no better is better suited to decide whether this is the typical case represent bided by that guideli sn sentence or if there's reasons why this is worse than that. the guideline still gives this court discretion when there are aggravatiing factors to give a more serious sentence than what the guidelines presumption calls for. as you know, we are asking you to do that today. there are four aggravating factors. they go beyond a list of just what those factors are. we have not just done our homework and found a list. the court made good findings, detailed findings about those factors. we think they justify a greatly increased sentence. this is not the typical second-degree unintentional murder. supreme court said one aggravating factor is sufficient to go twice the top of the range. here we have four. the first one the court found is abuse of position, of trust and authority. the court specifically found there chauvin was acting as a police officer, he had a position of trust and authority. that's true. we trust police officers. we utrust them when we need hel. we call them for help. e with trust they will take care of the problems that they are assigned to deal with, right? we trust them. we also give them great authority. we give them great power. we give them power to use force that individuals would be prosecuted for using. we give them authority to arrest, to detain and with great power comes great responsibility. they're not sent out there by themselves to do this. they are given substantial training. this court saw all of that through the trial, in general and in specific to mr. chauvin and the other three officers. they are given training on the use of force, the force used has to be warranted by the threat. they are given training on deescalation because we recognize that police officers are called in when people are not having their best day, when people might be affected by mental illness, drug abuse, any number of issues. they are just having a bad day and trained for that and should be. they are taught how to use that to deescalate and control a situation. they are taught medical intervention. they are taught to provide medical attention to people who need it. being a police officer is a difficult job. we ask a lot of them. it's a profession, there's no doubt about it. we give them a substantial amount of training and most officers do it right. this case wasn't about police officers, all police officers. it wasn't about policing. this case was about derek chauvin disregarding all that training he received and assaulting mr. floyd until he suffocated to death. one of the things that you heard, your honor, and the jurors heard that can really encapsulate a important issue here. seven words. if your custody as in your care. it's a real simple mantra. it's real easy thing to remember. you'll take custody of somebody. you have to provide care. you have to do it in caring way. you can't disregard their care. mr. chauvin babused his positio of trust as a police officer by doing that. just disregarding all his training. it was an abuse of that because what did he decide to do? we are forced in this criminal justice system to infer people's state of mind by conduct and their statements. what was his end game here? what was the plan? seems apparent the plan was hold him down until we can dump him in an ambulance and no longer have him be our problem. recall he said to charles m mcmillan, he might be on something. that's it. he held mr. floyd down as mr. floyd begged for his life. he had the other officers help him in that regard. he said yeah. he was dismissive to that duty of care. we trust they will be treated with respect, reasonable force and their medical needs will be addressed. i'm paraphrasing from the court's findings. that trust was violated. we trust that they will use their authority reasonably and this was a particularly e greg -- egregious abuse of that force. the typical second-degree murder does not include, does not involve that extent of abuse by dearly held position of abuse, position of authority and trust by the community and by individuals of the community. mr. floyd was treated by many chauvin with particularly cruelty. i think that is the right word. we have all seen it. mr. floyd did not want to be in the backseat. that's it. that's the rub. it was the need to get him in that backseat no matter what. we all saw that once he was pulled out of that backseat, he ka calmed down even willingly went down to ground. i'm going down. he said. he went down to ground, not fighting, not punching, and he was placed initially on his side. he's already land cuffed. he's placed on recovery position like he should be, beche's trying to breathe. quickly faced prone on the ground face down. mr. chauvin put his left knee on