Derek Chauvin Stabbed in Federal Prison, Expected to Survive

The former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate at a federal prison in Arizona on Friday. The Minnesota attorney general's office has confirmed that Chauvin is expected to survive the attack, which has been met with dismay from prosecutors who successfully pursued his second-degree murder conviction. Chauvin's stabbing is the second high-profile attack on a federal prisoner in the last five months, and has raised further concerns about the safety and security of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Key Takeaways:

• Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate at a federal prison in Arizona on Friday.
• Chauvin is expected to survive the attack, according to the Minnesota attorney general's office.
• The stabbing occurred at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, which has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages.
• Chauvin was sent to the facility in August 2022 to serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights and a 22 1/2 -year state sentence for second-degree murder.
• Chauvin's lawyer had advocated for keeping him out of the general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he'd be a target.
• The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has confirmed an assault at the facility and said employees performed "life-saving measures" before the inmate was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
• The FBI was notified, and no employees at the Tucson facility were injured in the attack.
• The facility has about 380 inmates.
• Chauvin's stabbing is the second high-profile attack on a federal prisoner in the last five months, following the stabbing of disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar in July.
• Chauvin is making a longshot bid to overturn his federal guilty plea, claiming new evidence shows he didn't cause Floyd's death.
• Floyd, who was Black, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pressed a knee on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes on the street outside a convenience store where Floyd was suspected of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
• Bystander video captured Floyd's fading cries of "I can't breathe."
• His death touched off protests worldwide, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
• Three other former officers who were at the scene received lesser state and federal sentences for their roles in Floyd's death.

Statistics:

• 9 1/2 minutes: the amount of time Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd's neck.
• 380: the number of inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson.
• 21 years: the length of Chauvin's federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights.
• 22 1/2 years: the length of Chauvin's state sentence for second-degree murder.
• 30,000: the number of employees at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
• 158,000: the number of inmates in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
• $8 billion: the annual budget of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Sources:

• Minnesota attorney general's office
• The Associated Press
• The U.S. Bureau of Prisons
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• House Judiciary subcommittee
• Associated Press writers Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Michael Balsamo in New York