Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, could get out of prison years before the end of his 22.5-year sentence for the murder of George Floyd. Why? Minnesota uses “determinate sentencing.” Under this system, there is no parole board and good behavior won’t get you out of jail early.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections says that people get out of prison after serving two-thirds of their sentence and spend the rest of their time on supervised release. Chauvin, who is 45 years old, was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison by Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill.
He has already served 199 days of that time. Using the two-thirds rule, this means that he will have to stay in prison for about 15 years before he can get out, which will be around the time he turns 60.
Officials say that everyone on supervised release must follow certain rules, such as having an approved place to live, getting regular drug and alcohol tests, being limited in how much they can use the internet, and in some cases, being monitored electronically.
People who break the rules will be arrested on a warrant. The Minnesota Department of Corrections says, “The case will be looked at to see how bad the violation was and what should be done as a result.”
“If someone makes a small mistake, their release conditions will be changed before they can go back into the community to continue being watched.”
