A Verdict

Three hundred and thirty-one days ago, Derek Chauvin put his knee on the neck of George Floyd for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. George Floyd took his last breath on his stomach, hands cuffed behind his back.

His death, captured on cell phone video by 17-year-old Darnella Frazier, sparked a summer of unrest and calls to abolish the police around the country. 

This week, after a televised trial and around 11 hours of deliberation, the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of all three charges he faced: second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

It was the first time in Minnesota state history that a white police officer has been held accountable for killing a Black man. It was the first time that America could call Derek Chauvin what many have long believed he is. Murderer.

With this verdict, what has been achieved? And what work remains? 

Shaquille Brewster, correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, explains the reforms activists in Minneapolis hope to see next. And Shaquille and Trymaine talk about what it has been like covering this case as Black journalists.

And in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trymaine sits down with Tiffany Crutcher, whose brother Terence Crutcher was shot and killed by police in 2016. They talk about how the families of people who have been killed by police are working together to push for greater police accountability and a system that brings us closer to justice.

For a transcript, please visit https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica. 

Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at intoamerica@nbcuni.com

Further Reading and Listening: 

• Derek Chauvin guilty of murder in George Floyd’s death  
• Here’s what the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would do 
• ‘It’s a start’: People in Minneapolis greet the Chauvin conviction with mixed emotions