Lawmakers from both parties are expressing satisfaction with Tuesday’s guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin for murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.
California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters says: “I’m not celebrating, I’m relieved.” She had come under fire for comments ahead of the verdict critics said were inciting potential violent protest in the event of an acquittal.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the chamber’s only Black Republican, says he is thankful for a verdict that shows “our justice system continues to become more just.”
GOP Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst says, “I guess I’m in agreement” with the jury’s decision.
Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock says he hopes the verdict will let “people who have seen this trauma over and over again” know the nation’s laws can give them equal protection. Warnock is pastor of the Atlanta church once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King.
Neyond Capitol Hill, former President Barack Obama says the conviction of ex-police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd was correct but only one step in the fight for justice.
He says in a statement that true justice requires Americans to understand that “Black Americans are being treated differently every day” and that millions live in fear that their next encounter with law enforcement could be their last.
Obama says the country needs to follow up on the verdict by taking concrete steps to reduce racial bias in the criminal justice system and to redouble efforts to expand economic opportunity in marginalized communities.
Source: Newmax
