A grand jury on Thursday returned indictments against Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Desmond Mills.
Each former officer is charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression for their alleged roles in the death of Tyre Nichols.
According to attorney and CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson, the charges are “very significant and very important and can land all of these officers in jail, essentially if it’s 15 to 60 years, for the rest of their natural lives.”
He said that there are "two distinctions" when comparing charges for first-degree versus second-degree murder:
"The first distinction, is the distinction in terms of the level of intent," Jackson told CNN. "If you charge first degree murder, the prosecutor then has to demonstrate you acted with premeditation. Second degree murder, on the other hand, you simply have to demonstrate that it was a knowing killing, as you heard the prosecutor say. What does that mean? You have to appreciate and know that the nature of your conduct could cause a death."
Under Tennessee sentencing guidelines, a conviction for first-degree murder could warrant life in prison or life without parole, Jackson said. For second-degree murder, the ex-officers could face 15 to 60 years if convicted, he said.
Jackson said the video of Nichols' fatal traffic stop arrest will be "significant" to the case, which Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said will be released by the city of Memphis after 6 p.m. local time on Friday.
"We'll find out whether the stop itself was legitimate," he said. "But even if the stop is legitimate, there comes a point, based upon your conduct, where you can exceed that legitimacy by detaining someone unlawfully against their will."