The Long Thorny Road to Justice
when he was young. He had always wanted to be an example for the youngsters. He always acted as a mentor. The paradox is he never knew he would one day become such an icon, not only to the residents of his neighbourhood, but to millions around the world.” One year later in June, I found myself once again with William in Minneapolis. This time we were covering the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white police officer who had killed Floyd. He was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison. We couldn’t leave Minneapolis without visiting the memorial to Floyd, in a place now called George Floyd Square. It was almost sunset. Murals and bouquets of flowers decorated the entire area.
The scene seemed calmer than it had a year earlier. I asked a man sitting outside his shop about the verdict. “Many Black Americans in the US were given harsher sentences for offenses far less than murder. However, it is one step of the long thorny road to justice,” he said. I pause and reflect on how Al Jazeera is lending a helping hand to all those marching along that road.
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