Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson, who presided over the case, to sentence Lane to between 5¼ and 6½ years in prison for his role in the restraint that killed Floyd.
“A life was lost," Magnuson said. “The fact that you did not get up and remove Mr. Chauvin from Mr. Floyd or Mr. Floyd became unresponsive is a violation of the law.” Acting on a defense request, Magnuson said Thursday he was “strongly” recommending that Lane be allowed to serve time at a federal prison in Duluth, Minn., so that he can be close to his family, but noted that the Bureau of Prisons will ultimately determine his fate.
Courteney Ross, Floyd’s girlfriend, directly addressed Lane, telling the former officer she did not think he was a “bad guy." Lane testified during the federal trial that he was worried Floyd had a weapon or would try to flee the scene. Later, Kueng and Lane struggled with Floyd as they tried to place him inside a squad car.
“Acceptance of responsibility means stepping up and saying that what you did or failed to do was wrong,” Sertich said. “Lane did not accept responsibility for his own failures at any point prior to or during trial. Indeed, he is still arguing that he followed his training, which is the opposite of accepting responsibility.”Prosecutors have asked for a “substantially higher” sentence than Lane’s for Kueng and Thao, but less than what Chauvin received.
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Only 30 months for a life?
Wow. That is some BS right there.