By Ashley Robinson Derek Chauvin is a former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd during an arrest in May 2020. He remains in federal prison more than five years after a Minnesota jury found him guilty, and he is serving both a state murder sentence and a separate federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights. As of October 12, 2026, his latest reported location is FCI Big Spring in Texas, although federal plans to close that institution may lead to another transfer. His lawyers are still challenging the state conviction, but no court has ordered his release.
Is Derek Chauvin in Prison Right Now?
Yes. Derek Chauvin is still incarcerated. He was sentenced to 22 years and six months in Minnesota state court in June 2021 and to 21 years in federal court in July 2022. The two terms run concurrently, meaning they are served at the same time rather than added together. Neither the original state conviction nor his federal guilty plea has been set aside.
Who Is Derek Chauvin?
Chauvin served for nearly two decades with the Minneapolis Police Department. He became the central defendant in the criminal case arising from George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020. Bystander video showed Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyd while Floyd was handcuffed and restrained on the street. The encounter lasted more than nine minutes and prompted protests in the United States and internationally. Chauvin was fired from the police department and later charged in state and federal court.
Why Did Derek Chauvin Go to Prison?
Police encountered Floyd after a store employee reported a suspected counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, officers restrained Floyd face down. Chauvin kept his knee against Floyd as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe and eventually stopped responding. Prosecutors argued that the restraint was an unlawful use of force that caused Floyd’s death. The defense disputed the cause of death and maintained that Chauvin had acted within police procedures. Jurors rejected that defense and convicted him.
What Was Derek Chauvin Convicted Of?
On April 20, 2021, a Hennepin County jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The court imposed a sentence on the most serious count, second-degree unintentional murder. The other guilty verdicts did not result in three separate prison terms stacked on top of one another. The word “unintentional” in the offense name does not mean the jury found the killing accidental; the charge concerns an unintentional death occurring during an underlying felony.
How Long Is Derek Chauvin’s State Prison Sentence?
On June 25, 2021, Judge Peter Cahill imposed a prison term of 270 months, or 22 years and six months. The judge found aggravating factors that supported a sentence above the ordinary guideline range. Under Minnesota law, the time a person actually spends behind bars may differ from the full pronounced term, subject to the applicable rules governing supervised release and credits. Chauvin’s federal sentence also affects how his imprisonment is administered.
Why Did He Receive a Separate Federal Sentence?
The federal government pursued civil-rights charges that were legally distinct from Minnesota’s murder prosecution. In December 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s constitutional rights through unreasonable force. His plea also covered a separate 2017 incident involving excessive force against a teenager. On July 7, 2022, a federal judge sentenced him to 21 years in prison, to run concurrently with the Minnesota sentence. It is therefore inaccurate to say Chauvin is serving a combined 43-and-a-half-year term.
Where Is Derek Chauvin Being Held?
The most recently documented placement is the Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring, a low-security federal prison in Texas. Chauvin was transferred there in August 2024 after previously being housed at FCI Tucson in Arizona. His Federal Bureau of Prisons register number is 47849-509. Because prison placements can change, especially during institutional closures, the bureau’s inmate locator is the best source for a current assignment.
Is the Texas Prison Closing?
Yes. On July 1, 2026, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced plans to close FCI Big Spring and its satellite camp, citing major maintenance and staffing problems. Reports in September still identified Chauvin at Big Spring, and no confirmed destination for his transfer had been publicly established. A transfer to another prison would change where he serves his term, not cancel the underlying sentences.
Was Derek Chauvin Stabbed in Prison?
Yes. On November 24, 2023, Chauvin was attacked by another prisoner at FCI Tucson and suffered serious stab wounds. He survived and later returned to prison custody. The attack received national attention and preceded his August 2024 transfer to Texas. It did not overturn any conviction or shorten his sentence.
When Will Derek Chauvin Be Released?
Recent prison-record reporting lists November 18, 2037, as Chauvin’s projected federal release date. Some articles instead refer broadly to 2038, reflecting earlier projections or different ways of describing the sentences. The November 2037 date is a projection, not an unconditional promise of release. Federal calculations can change, and Chauvin also remains subject to the separate Minnesota judgment. Neither 2037 nor 2038 should be described as the date he has already been granted parole.
Has Derek Chauvin Won an Appeal?
No. The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld his state conviction in April 2023. Minnesota’s highest court declined further review, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case in November 2023. Those decisions left the conviction in place. Chauvin has continued filing post-conviction challenges, which are legally different from winning a reversal on direct appeal.
What Happened in His 2026 Legal Challenges?
A Minnesota district judge rejected a second post-conviction petition on May 1, 2026. Chauvin’s lawyers filed an appeal of that ruling on June 29. Court records show additional briefing activity in September, but those procedural steps did not invalidate the judgment. In a separate third petition filed in August 2026, his attorneys argued that Minnesota’s appointment of Attorney General Keith Ellison to the prosecution and the absence of a grand-jury indictment violated his rights. These remain claims advanced by the defense, not judicial findings that his prosecution was unlawful. No successful court challenge requiring release had been confirmed by October 12, 2026.
Could a Presidential Pardon Free Derek Chauvin?
A U.S. president may pardon or commute a federal conviction or sentence, and public figures have called for clemency in Chauvin’s case. But presidential clemency cannot erase his Minnesota state murder conviction or the sentence imposed by a Minnesota court. Consequently, even a federal pardon would not, by itself, require his release from custody. No presidential pardon or commutation resulting in his freedom has been confirmed.
What Is the Latest Status of Derek Chauvin’s Case?
As of October 12, 2026, Derek Chauvin remains imprisoned under a 22½-year Minnesota sentence and a concurrent 21-year federal sentence. FCI Big Spring in Texas is his latest reported prison, although its announced closure means that location could change. His projected federal release date has been reported as November 18, 2037. Legal challenges filed in 2026 have not overturned his convictions, and he has not been released.
Olivia Wilson