Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd, has been transferred to a federal prison in Texas nearly nine months after surviving a stabbing attack in another facility. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed on Tuesday that Chauvin, 47, is now housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Big Spring, a low-security prison, told Newsweek.
Chauvin was previously held at FCI Tucson, a medium-security prison in Arizona, where he was serving both a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22 1/2-year state sentence for second-degree murder. The transfer to Texas follows an incident in November 2023 when Chauvin was stabbed 22 times by John Turscak, a former gang leader and one-time FBI informant, told NPR. Turscak, who is serving a 30-year sentence, targeted Chauvin due to his notoriety for Floyd’s death, telling investigators he would have killed Chauvin if not for the quick response of correctional officers.
Meanwhile, another former Minneapolis officer involved in Floyd’s death, Thomas Lane, was released from federal prison in Colorado on Tuesday. Lane, 41, served a three-year sentence for aiding and abetting manslaughter. He admitted in court that he intentionally helped restrain Floyd in a way that he knew created an unreasonable risk and ultimately caused Floyd’s death. Lane was the first of the four officers convicted in connection with Floyd’s killing to be released.
Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes while Floyd, a Black man, repeatedly stated he couldn’t breathe. Lane held down Floyd’s legs during the incident, while J. Alexander Kueng, who is Black, knelt on Floyd’s back, and Tou Thao, who is Hmong American, kept bystanders from intervening. The killing, captured on video, sparked worldwide protests and a broader reckoning over racial injustice.
Kueng and Thao are both set to be released in 2025. Kueng is currently held in a federal prison in Ohio, and Thao in a facility in Kentucky.
Chauvin, meanwhile, is pursuing a longshot bid to overturn his federal guilty plea, claiming new evidence suggests he didn’t cause Floyd’s death. If unsuccessful, Chauvin won’t be released until 2038.
FCI Tucson, where Chauvin was previously housed, has faced issues with security lapses and staffing shortages. Chauvin’s former lawyer, Eric Nelson, had advocated for his placement outside the general population due to concerns he would be targeted. Turscak, who was charged with attempted murder, told officers he would have succeeded in killing Chauvin had they not intervened so quickly.