On the third anniversary of George Floyd’s death, his sister decided to forgive the man who murdered him, even though she says Derek Chauvin has shown no remorse.
via: Complex
“America might think Im crazy for saying this, but I have to get this off my chest,” she told FOX 26 Houston. “At this point, three years down the line, I do forgive Derek Chauvin for what he did. It’s not OK that he did it, OK? But I have to forgive him in order to move on with my life.”
LaTonya Floyd continued: “I’ve been running around in circles, I’ve been going through a whole lot, and if our higher power don’t forgive us, we’re nothing. We’re lost. We’re outta there. And I can’t keep living my life with this anger, that’s gonna form to hate, such as he had. And it’s going to lead to me doing something like that, because I’m mad, I’m angry. I can’t live with that within me. So I pray for him, and I pray he find peace within himself, and I pray that next time, he kneel down, he’s kneeling down to help someone up, not hold ‘em down. God has a plan for everybody. I pray for Derek and I do forgive you, and if you are listening, may the peace of God be with you man.”
The comments were made on May 25 during a Houston screening of The Making of George, a 40-minute documentary that explored the creation of a Houston statue dedicated to the late father.
LaTonya made similar comments during an interview with People magazine, saying she’s forgiven Chauvin despite the fact that he’s never apologized.
“He’s not one time never ever, ever apologized to us,” she said. “I don’t like hate, that’s not what I’m about. I’m gonna just tell you as well as the rest of the world that I found it in my heart. I made peace with myself to forgive him because if our higher power didn’t forgive us, we would be nothing. I’m not saying it’s okay, what he did. But for me to go forth and make peace with myself and my life, I have to do that.”
George Floyd died on May 25, 2020 while in police custody. Cellphone footage of the incident showed the 46-year-old man face down on the street while Chauvin kneeled on his neck. Two other officers, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, helped hold George Floyd down. The footage captured George Floyd repeatedly shouting he couldn’t breathe while Chauvin pressed on his neck for about 9 minutes. The man eventually lost consciousness and was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Chauvin and his former colleagues were charged in connection to the killing. Chauvin was ultimately found guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for those charges.
