Former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd released from prison

Thomas Lane, a former Minneapolis police officer convicted for his role in the murder of George Floyd, has been released from federal prison.

Lane was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in 2022 for violating Floyd's civil rights when former police officer Derek Chauvin killed the Minnesota man on May 25, 2020 – Lane's fourth day on the job.

While Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck and cut off his air supply, Lane held his legs while he struggled.

During the sentencing, Lane admitted to hearing Floyd say he could not breathe while being forcibly restrained.

Lane was also convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter. He served part of that sentence concurrently with his prison sentence at Englewood Federal Penitentiary in Littleton, Colorado.

Lane has served both of his sentences, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He is the first of the police officers convicted in Floyd's murder to be released. He will now be on one year of supervised release and probation.

Lane was one of four former Minneapolis police officers convicted in connection with Floyd's death, which sparked a wave of protests for racial justice around the world.

Chauvin was convicted of both murder and manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22.5 years in Minnesota and received a federal sentence of 21 years after pleading guilty to violating Floyd's civil rights. The Supreme Court rejected Chauvin's appeal of his state conviction in 2023.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to the Associated Press on Tuesday that Chauvin had been transferred to a new federal facility after being stabbed 22 times at FCI Tucson in Arizona late last year. He is currently being held at the low-security FCI Big Spring in central Texas.

J. Alexander Kueng, who knelt on Floyd's back, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He is currently serving his sentence in a federal prison in Ohio.

Tou Thao, who was blocking bystanders from the other three officers, was convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to nearly five years in prison and is serving his sentence in a federal prison in Kentucky.

Kueng and Thao were also found guilty of violating Floyd's federal civil rights and sentenced to three and three-and-a-half years in prison, respectively.

Both men's state and federal prison sentences will be served concurrently.

Originally published: August 20, 2024 at 16:41