tonight, on a special edition of "nightline," guilty. >> find the defendant guilty. >> from george floyd's family, tears of relief as former police officer derek chauvin is convicted on all charges. >> we got justice. we won. okay? we won. he may not be here, but we won. >> say his name! >> george floyd! >> inside the historic moment, from minneapolis -- >> guilty as charged! getty as charged! >> to the white house. >> nothing is going to make it all better. but at least now there's some justice. >> plus how the prosecution made their case and what this all means in the movement for police

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. it was the verdict heard round the world. guilty. guilty. guilty. that was the finding of a

diverse american jury in a murder trial that touched a nerve in america like few cases ever have. former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin will be sentenced in about eight weeks. he could well spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering george floyd. more on that and the particulars of this day in a moment. today was indeed a moment in our nation's history. a racial reckoning, many have called it, generations in the making. the death of mr. floyd compared to the murder of emmett till in mississippi in 1955. the beating of rodney king in los angeles in 1991. and the countless names and faces known and unknown, black americans who found themselves on the wrong side of law enforcement in america's immense and bitterly deep racial divide. that is almost certainly an unfair weight to place on the life and death of george floyd or the actions of derek chauvin, but that weight and more is, in fact, what this trial symbolized. a symbol of what is wrong and what is possible.

today, justice was felt. and this is what it looked like. >> members of the jury, i understand you have a verdict? count one, find the defendant guilty. count two, find the defendant guilty. count three, find the defendant guilty. >> reporter: after 14 days of testimony, 45 witnesses called to the stand -- >> your verdict, so say you one, so say you all? >> yes. >> yes. >> yes. >> reporter: the pleas of one family with a broken heart. derek chauvin, 45, former police officer for minneapolis p.d., found guilty on all three felony counts. guilty of second degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter. >> america, let's pause for a moment to proclaim this historical moment, not just for the legacy of george floyd, but for the legacy of america. >> reporter: the verdict wrapping up a trial watched

closely across the nation. people overcome with emotion. prp [ cheers and applause ] united in their relief. >> guilty. >> yes! >> reporter: perhaps none more so than the floyd family. >> guilty. >> yes! yes! >> what's his name? >> george floyd! >> i can sleep in peace now. he back with my grandma again. this is what we prayed for, this is all we ever wanted. justice for our uncle. >> we won. he may not be here. but we won. >> say his name! >> george floyd! >> reporter: it's a stunning end to a state trial that had national implications. one that played out in this towering courthouse in hennepin county, minnesota. a case that for many came to represent decades of injustice. >> that's the thing about george floyd square, it's not just

about george floyd, it really is about all the names, all the lives that we've lost to injustice. >> reporter: earlier this morning, janelle austin was feeling the heavy anticipation of the moment. >> every day is an adventure. >> isn't it, though? i don't even know what to do with myself, i'm so nervous. because it's like -- it's a landmark case. >> exactly. it's a lot of pressure, man. >> right. >> a lot of pressure. they got to get it right. >> they have to get it right. >> they got to get it right. >> yeah. let's do it that way. >> reporter: austin's one of the primary caretakers of the george floyd memorial. >> art is one of the most powerful forms of protest. >> reporter: a memorial filled with a slew of flowers and tributes that have been erected since last year in the space where he died. >> the consequence for taking the life of a person is death, in many cultures, historically. anything less than death is mercy.

>> reporter: the tense buildup to the verdict steadily rising from day one of the trial. for weeks the prosecution laid out their case, calling 38 witnesses in total. >> certainly, once he was in distress and tried to verbalize that, that should have stopped. >> reporter: this included testimony from chauvin's former boss, minneapolis police chief madera arredondo, who bluntly rejected his former officer's actions that day. >> it's not part of our training and it certainly is not part of our ethics or our values. >> having the police chief come in and testify against derek chauvin was not just very unique, but it was incredibly powerful. and, you know, you're a juror. and you're saying, well, was the force reasonable? well, the chief of the department said it's not. it's tough to overcome, for the defense, in particular because

its witnesses were nowhere near as powerful as the expert witnesses on behalf of the prosecution. >> we hear about this mythological blue wall, right? but it is real. and it has deep tentacles. and it can -- it's crushing for many especially young officers. and so having officers come through, testify against him, hopefully will set a precedent for other officers who see wrongdoing. >> reporter: they also urged jurors to believe what they saw on that video. and to trust their expert witnesses, bringing on multiple policing experts who examined chauvin's use of a neck restraint. >> this wasn't policing. this was murder. the defendant is guilty of all three counts. all of them. and there's no excuse. >> reporter: but it was the medical examiner brought on to testify who became pivotal to

both sides. among them, pulmonologist dr. martin tobin for the prosecution. >> you are seeing her fatal injury to the brain from a lack of oxygen. >> reporter: dr. tobin stating that chauvin and the other officers restricted floyd's breathing by flattening his ribcage. and the placement of officer chauvin's knee on floyd's shoulder and neck ultimately caused floyd to have trouble breathing. >> at the beginning, you can see he's conscious. you can see slight flickering. then it disappears. so one second he's alive, and one second he's no longer. a healthy person subjected to what mr. floyd was subjected to would have died. >> even though some of the prosecution witnesses didn't agree on the precise cause of death, they agreed that derek chauvin's actions were the primary cause of death.

>> reporter: another testimony key to the prosecution's case, a 9-year-old witness, not shown on camera due to her age. she recalled the moment emts arrived on scene and what she says was said to chauvin. >> they asked him nicely to get off of him. >> and when they asked him nicely to get off of him, what did he do? >> still stayed on him. >> reporter: chauvin himself only spoke one time, briefly. >> have you made a decision today whether you intend to testify or whether you intend to invoke your fifth amendment privilege? >> i will invoke my fifth amendment privilege today. >> derek chauvin here decided not to testify. he really would have had a difficult time explaining why he was still on top of george floyd in minute three, in minute six, in minute eight, and i just don't see what he could have said that would have significantly helped the case. >> reporter: in the early afternoon, as the day started to wane, people started gathering

across from the courthouse to see if there would be a verdict. then that moment everyone had been waiting for. >> find the defendant guilty. >> yes! >> yes! >> it's a great day to take a breath for george floyd, and a breath for our justice system. and i'm really hopeful. but i'm also now demanding that as we got this guilty verdict inside this courthouse, that we also get a guilty verdict, a true justice, outside the courthouse so we can actually prevent derek chauvins of the world, kneeling on the necks of another unarmed black man. >> reporter: it's a long-awaited moment for floyd's family and their attorney, ben crump. full of emotion. here's the moment they receive a congratulatory call from the president. >> nothing is going to make it all better. but at least, god, now there's some justice. >> the minute we heard that the jury had come back with a unanimous verdict by

mid-afternoon, it was pretty clear this was bad news for derek chauvin. he's facing a maximum penalty of up to 40 years. the sentencing guidelines in minnesota suggest 10 to 15 years. but the prosecutors here are clearly going to ask for enhancements. they're going to say that there are aggravating factors here that should lead the court to go above that 10 to 15-year guideline. >> we're hopeful that this verdict is a signal and a sign that, you know, justice can actually be served if people are committed to it and are neutral on the jury and study the evidence. because the evidence was overwhelming. >> reporter: but for those who knew and loved floyd, the relief short and bittersweet. the trial that monopolized their lives is finally at an end. a new chapter for healing and change is just beginning. >> we won today, but there's so many other families that have

not received justice. so the fight has to continue. so we're going to continue to fight for those families, and as well, make sure that the people remember my uncle's name. >> earlier tonight i spoke with george floyd's brother, terrence. he and the floyd family have shared so much with us over the last year, from rage to grief. and now relief. terrence, thanks so much for making time for thus evening. again, our condolences to you and your family. first question. when you heard the judge say guilty, not once, not twice, but three times, what was your immediate reaction? >> each time he said guilty, i was proud. it was like, we felt change in the atmosphere. that's how we actually felt. change. >> it's been over a year since your brother was murdered. talk about the journey you and your family have been on. could you have ever imagined this moment, this night? >> couldn't have imagined it.

but we -- you know we wanted it to happen. this journey has been a long, tedious, emotional journey. you know, dealing with the kickback of his past and them just trying to kill my brother all over again. you know, but me and my family, we stood strong. we kept our faith. we prayed. and we just focused on the task at hand, which we wanted change in america. change. >> to that point what message does this verdict do you think send to the rest of the country? and what would you like your brother's legacy to be now moving forward? >> i would really want them to know that -- don't judge us. don't judge us by our appearance. you know, get to know us. we're not animals. don't treat us as such. just get to know us, and you'll

find out that we're good people. >> thank you so much. continued grace to you and your family. we'll see you down the road. >> thank you. up next, what the verdict means for the future. and more personal conversation with sunny hostin and l.z. granderson. aveeno® moisturizer goes beyond just soothing sensitive skin? exactly jen! calm + restore oat gel is formulated with prebiotic oat. and strengthens skin's moisture barrier. uh! i love it! aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ does your vitamin c last twenty-four hours? only nature's bounty does. new immune twenty-four hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c. plus, herbal and other immune superstars. only from nature's bounty. experience clean in a whole new way. now roomba vacuums exactly where you need it. alexa, tell roomba to vacuum in front of the couch. and offers personalized cleaning suggestions for a clean unique to you and your home. roomba and the irobot home app.

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♪ what will the chauvin verdict mean? earlier tonight i spoke with former prosecutor and cohost of "the view" sunny hostin and abc news contributor l.z. granderson. we started discussing the important points of today's

verdict, but it became quite personal. guys, we've talked about this off camera, we could talk about this all night. you're both parents raising black sons. i'm a father who raised three black daughters. did this verdict hit home with you in a personal way? how did it hit you in a personal way? >> i can say that it's something that i think about often when it comes to the safety of my son. my son is 18 years old. he's going to start college in the fall. he's about 6'1", very muscular. and while i see a brilliant, wonderful, loving child, i know that other people see a threat. and i worry about his safety all the time. but today, i felt just a bit of relief that perhaps people will see his humanity the way that they should see the humanity of

all people. and i feel a bit hopeful, a bit hopeful, that perhaps this is a movement and not just a moment in our country. >> well said. l.z., we'll give you the last word. you're a black man raising a black man who could have been george floyd. your boy could have been george floyd. we'll give you the last word. >> you know, the worst feeling i have as a father is finding myself soaking in moments with my son, for fear it might be our last. i hate that. i hate being cognizant of the fact that when my young man walks out the door, what could happen to him at the hands of law enforcement. not all cops, obviously. but there are enough bad ones out there for us to fear. and i hate the fact that i'm not savoring moments with him because i don't want him to grow up too fast, or move across the

country, start his own life, we don't see each other as often. no, i'm savoring the moments because i'm fearful they may be our last. so i am hopeful that this begins the ending of that feeling for myself and for any other parents of color who carry the same fears that i have when their child leaves the door. a little bit more than the fears of our counterparts. >> can i say something? >> please, please, go ahead. >> l.z. and i have known each other for a long time. i remember one night when we were both working at cnn. and we were covering a trial. we were covering a case, michael brown case, i believe. and l.z. is never late to a live shot. and he was late. and we were all looking for him. and as it turns out, a police officer had stopped l.z., profiled him. and -- i remember l.z.

into our truck. and the look on his face, i don't think i will ever forget. because he looked defeated. he looked angry. he was frustrated. but we went on air, and he did his job as the professional that he is. in the face of that kind of indignity. and no person should have to experience that. not l.z., not his son, not my son, not anyone. and i hope it just one day stops. >> amen. l.z., thank you, brother. >> thank you, sunny. thank you for remembering that moment. also for your words. it means a great deal. thank you. thank you. >> two of the best in the business. two of the best parents a child could have. l.z., sunny, thank you both. >> thank you.

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finally tonight, it was dr. martin luther king jr. who said in 1968, the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. as we leave you this evening with the scene from george floyd square in minneapolis, for the many gathered there and for many more across the country, justice found itself sweet spot today, this time. that's "nightline" for this evening. thanks for the company, america. good night.