On July 7, 2022 Derek Chauvin was sentenced in federal court for the death of George Floyd. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison. The sentence will run concurrently with his state sentence of 22.5 years.
The sentencing took about an hour so I had to draw fast. I was able to work up one hi-res sketch depicting a member of the Floyd family reading a statement. I sent it to the media along with two crops, one of Chauvin and one of the Judge.
In 2021 Gregory Ulrich entered an Alina Health clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota and opened fire. He shot five people, one of whom died. He also set off two pipe bombs and a third that did not detonate. Ulrich admitted to the crime but says he is not guilty of first-degree murder because he didn’t intend to kill anyone, only to cause mayhem. He wanted to draw attention to what he saw as a heartless healthcare system by inflicting pain, not death.
Ulrich was angry about being denied opioids following a painful back surgery and says he was wrongfully labeled “drug-seeking”. On the stand Ulrich said, “I needed someone to listen…I wanted to sensationalize and get a louder message. I wanted to get in the papers and get people’s attention so people understand what pain is like without medication.” In a pre-taped video before the shooting Ulrich called on others to rise up and grab their guns. He said he was “saving all seniors” who are living in pain.
On June 3, 2022 a jury found Ulrich guilty on all counts.
I was only in court for the first day of jury selection, opening statements, and closing arguments.
The US District Court of Minnesota will be opening a new educational center soon in Minneapolis. They commissioned me to create a courtroom sketch-style illustration for use in an interactive educational display to help visitors learn about the individual roles in a courtroom. The display will have nine removable rectangle “puzzle pieces”, each highlighting a different person’s job. Visitors can take a puzzle piece from the sketch and place it in an RFID reader dock. When they do, a monitor will display information about that person’s role in court.
Above is the original illustration I completed. Below is a version showing the approximate cutout dimensions of each puzzle piece:
Once the display is finished and open to the public I hope to post some photos showing how it turned out.
In January/February 2022 there was a federal trial in St. Paul charging the other three former police officers who were with Derek Chauvin when he put his knee on Floyd’s neck. The officers were accused of not doing enough to stop Chauvin and thereby depriving Floyd of his civil rights. The trial lasted an entire month and all three officers were convicted. I was in court every day and created over fifty sketches. Here is a sampling.
To license or publish sketches please contact me.
To license or publish these or other sketches please contact me.
I’ve redesigned my website and added some new artwork. I’ve also started a blog where I will post sketches (and maybe my own personal thoughts now and then) for select trials as I sketch them. I will start with the George Floyd trial currently underway in St. Paul.
Look around. If you are interested in licensing images or hiring me to sketch a trial please contact me.