Chauvin is being held along with 280 other convicted murderers
Derek Chauvin, the former police officer found guilty of murdering George Floyd in May 2020, is being held in solitary confinement at the most secure prison facility in Minnesota.
Insider reports that he is currently at the maximum security Minnesota Correctional Facility at Oak Park Heights (MCF-Oak Park Heights), and is living apart from the general population of the prison in the Administrative Control Unit.
The prison is just a 40 minute drive from the street corner where Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine and a half minutes, killing him.
As part of the ex-cop’s solitary confinement, he will reportedly spend 23 hours a day on his own in his cell, being allowed to leave for one hour each day for exercise.
A spokesperson for the prison told Insider that Chauvin is on “administration segregation” in a restrictive unit for his own safety. He is being held in a single cell at the Administrative Control Unit (ACU), a unit that inmates are usually placed in for either disciplinary reasons or if their presence in the general population of the prison is a safety concern, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections’ website.
After a rule change in 2019, Chauvin could spend up to 360 days in solitary confinement. A typical solitary confinement cell is 8 1/2-by-11-foot and contains only a bed, concrete bench shower and toilet.
Of the 378 people currently held at MCF-Oak Park Heights, 280 are convicted murderers.
On Tuesday, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was immediately remanded in custody after the verdict was announced. He is expected to be sentenced in eight weeks.
For the most serious charge of second-degree murder, Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison.
