Pelosi thanks George Floyd for 'sacrificing your life for justice' after Chauvin guilty verdict

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday praised the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial and offered thanks to George Floyd for "sacrificing" his life for the pursuit of justice in policing. 

"Thank you George Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice," Pelosi said Tuesday outside the Capitol where she was joined by the Congressional Black Caucus.

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"Because of you and because of millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice. And now we have to make sure justice prevails in the sentencing."

Chauvin, 45, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

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Chauvin's sentencing is scheduled for eight weeks from now. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks as Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, right of Pelosi, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus listen, Tuesday, April 20, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, after the jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (AP)

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Later on Twitter, Pelosi sought to clarify her comments about thanking Floyd after her remarks were widely panned as tone-deaf.

"George Floyd should be alive today," Pelosi tweeted. "His family’s calls for justice for his murder were heard around the world. He did not die in vain. We must make sure other families don't suffer the same racism, violence & pain, and we must enact the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicing Act.

During the press conference, Pelosi said she spoke to Floyd's family earlier Tuesday before Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges in the murder of Floyd last May in Minneapolis.  

The California Democrat praised the model Floyd's family set for appealing for justice in the "most dignified way."

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She said Floyd's name is "synonymous with justice and dignity and grace and prayerfulness."

Pelosi said the guilty verdict is a "step in the right direction for justice done" but she and leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus said the work is "not over."

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They stressed the importance of passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law.  The legislation, which awaits Senate action, would overhaul standards for police tactics and conduct at the federal level.

Prominent measures include a federal ban on no-knock warrants and chokeholds, limits on qualified immunity shielding police from civil lawsuits, a framework to prevent racial profiling and the establishment of a national registry on allegations of police misconduct.