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Derek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison with 280 other convicted murderers

Apr 22, 2021, 02:09 IST
Insider
Derek Chauvin is being held at the MCF-Oak Park Heights Administrative Control Unit.Minnesota Department of Correction
  • Derek Chauvin is being held at the MCF-Oak Park Heights Administrative Control Unit.
  • The solitary confinement unit holds prisoners for 23 hours a day.
  • There are 280 convicted murderers at the facility, according to Department of Corrections data.
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Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, is being held at the maximum security Minnesota Correctional Facility at Oak Park Heights, where Insider previously reported he is living apart from the general population of the prison in the Administrative Control Unit.

The prison is about a 40 minute drive from the Minneapolis corner were Floyd died and is the most secure facility in the state.

Chauvin, who has not yet been sentenced, will spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement and be allowed one hour to leave his cell to exercise, the New York Times learned.

A jury on Tuesday convicted the 45-year-old of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. Floyd died after Chauvin kneeled on his body for more than nine minutes while he was handcuffed on the ground.

Chauvin was remanded into custody immediately after the verdict was announced.

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The Administrative Control Unit often is used for disciplinary reasons, but also when keeping a prisoner in general population could pose a particular safety concern, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Corrections staff must visit the cells of each person in the unit at least once every 30 minutes.

A cell door at MCF Oak Park Heights.Minnesota Department of Correction

Chauvin is among 280 murderers at the facility

The Minnesota Department of Corrections released an inmate profile on Wednesday providing statistics about the offenders being held at MCF-Oak Park Heights. There are 378 people committed to the facility, and Chauvin is among 280 convicted murderers there, according to the data.

All inmates currently being held in the facility are over the age of 18, with the average age being 39. About 45% of inmates there are Black and 39% are white.

The average sentence for all inmates is 11.8 years, with those convicted of homicide serving an average of 11.3 years, according to the data.

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A total of 309 prisoners, or 80%, have at least a GED or high school diploma.

MCF Oak Park Heights is a maximum security prison in Minnesota.Minnesota Department of Correction

He could spend up to 360 days in solitary

In 2019, Minnesota increased the maximum period of time that inmates can spend in solitary confinement from 90 days to 360 days after two correctional officers were killed, Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported at the time.

Prisoners held in solitary are confined to a 8 ½-by-11-foot cell with a bed, concrete bench, shower and toilet, the Minneapolis Star Tribune previously reported. There is a camera mounted on the ceiling, and the toilet and light is controlled by someone outside of the cell.

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