'George Floyd Would Still Be Alive If He Looked Like Me': Gov. Newsom, Others React To Derek Chauvin Guilty Verdict
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Local figures were quick to comment about the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd.
On Tuesday, Chauvin was convicted on all three counts he was charged with: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that the case shows that the work of fighting systemic racism needs to continue.
"George Floyd would still be alive if he looked like me. That must change," Newsom wrote. "No conviction can repair the harm done to the Floyd family, but today's verdict provides accountability.
Actor and Sacramento native LeVar Burton was more to the point in his reaction to the guilty verdict.
"I can breathe," Burton tweeted.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg tweeted that the verdict was just the beginning of justice.
"Our country's most persistent virus, racism, will not be wiped away with one verdict. But this jury's decision offers hope that our criminal justice system can hold law enforcement officers to account when they needlessly take the lives of the people they are sworn to protect and serve, and who pose no real threat," Steinberg wrote.
Sacramento Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive said his team would continue to use their platform to combat systemic racism.
"Today, we have seen justice served and this ruling should be a model for accountability, as it has not been the reality for so many other cases," Ranadive wrote.
Ranadive also ended his statement with the refrain "Black Lives Matter. Black Futures Matter."
Many other figures also reacted to Tuesday's guilty verdict:
