Just as outcry at George Floyd's murder last summer was almost universal, so was the gratitude and relief at the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin Tuesday.
In the rock community, musicians of all generations, backgrounds and political persuasions applauded the conviction news via social media.
Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, who lives not far from where Eric Garner died during an encounter with police in 2014, followed the Floyd trial closely throughout. He noted that the rare conviction of a former cop in a killing could make for real change in the years to come.
"One victory. Set against centuries of degradation, false convictions, frame ups, outright sadism, lynching, and being treated as less than livestock. It's a start [though]," he wrote during a series of Twitter responses. "Many people whose names we will never know, paid with their very lives for this moment. Unheralded. Hidden. Forgotten. This Is. A. Turning. Point."
Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell said he was hopeful that the guilty verdict would mark "a turning point in history. In 9 excruciating minutes the harsh reality of living in a time of police brutality, you've made — even realer. Chauvin Guilty As Charged."
Outspoken conservative All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte agreed that Chauvin's actions were indefensible. He pushed back against concern that the guilty verdict would make it hard for good cops to do their jobs.
"Regardless of your opinion on the Chauvin trial verdict, he at no point was a 'good' cop," Labonte wrote via Twitter. "He had something like 13 complaints filed against him. He’s not the guy you want to throw your support behind."
Jason Isbell said the verdict was encouraging but it didn't amount to justice, exactly. "Justice would be if it never happened in the first place but comeuppance does feel right."
Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick and Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta each said the news was a "step" in the right direction.
Adam Lambert added a call for police reform. Body Count frontman and hip hop legend Ice T, wrote that he would refrain from having a "pool party" until news of Chauvin's sentencing.
Chauvin will be sentenced in about eight weeks. He faces up to 40 years in prison for the most serious count: second-degree murder. The New York Times reports that the typical prison sentence for second-degree murder in Minneapolis is 12-and-a-half years. Prosecutors have asked for a longer sentence for Chauvin.
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