Derek Chauvin Wants a New Trial in George Floyd Murder Case
Derek Chauvin Wants a New Trial in George Floyd Murder Case
Just 2 weeks after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, Chauvin's attorney has filed for a new trial.
It has been filed on multiple grounds...
Here's the full story.
Now, we've seen a glimmer of hope in America's justice system this past month...
The highly-anticipated murder trial kicked off in Minneapolis at the Hennepin County Courthouse on March 29th.
The prosecution started proceedings by playing the horrifying video of the moment the accused, Derek Chauvin, dug his knee into George Floyd's neck as he cried out, "I can't breathe."
As the trial of Derek Chauvin begins, my thoughts are with the Floyd family and every American impacted by racist police brutality collectively reliving this trauma today. May justice be served.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 30, 2021
Special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told the jury in his opening statement:
"You can believe your eyes. That it's homicide, it's murder."
Never-before-seen bodycam footage from the events of May 25th was also presented to the jury...
And gave fresh details of the minutes leading up to Floyd's arrest, as well as the moment he was confronted by the police officers.
Of course, the footage was utterly chilling to watch.
Days on from that revelation, the prosecution called an outside expert witness to testify about Floyd's cause of death.
The evidence continued to stack up against Chauvin...
And, clearly in panic mode, his defense continued to stress that Floyd had already put himself at risk by swallowing drugs and resisting officers trying to arrest him - factors that compounded his vulnerability to a diseased heart, raising sufficient doubt that Chauvin should be acquitted.
Chauvin eventually spoke for the first time on April 15th.
He invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not risk making self-incriminating statements, laying to rest speculation over whether or not he would take the stand.
It was the only time Chauvin's voice was heard in court, other than in videos played to the jury of him kneeling on Floyd.
Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, questioned him about his decision on testifying, mentioning that they had spoken multiple times about whether Chauvin should testify in a "lengthy meeting."
"Have you made a decision today whether you intend to testify or whether you intend to invoke your Fifth Amendment privilege?" Nelson asked.
"I will invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege today," Chauvin replied.
However, despite his defense's best efforts...
Things didn't go in Chauvin's favor.
Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
The jury found the former police officer guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
It was then confirmed that Chauvin has been placed on suicide watch and under the highest security.
As authorities are concerned about violence towards him from other prisoners, too.
It's to be expected, given the circumstances of his crime.
Rumours have been circulating that Chauvin is like to appeal his conviction for some time now...
"There is no question that Chauvin will appeal," Somil Trivedi, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said.
"He has every statutory right to and his lawyer would be sort of wrong not to, as a matter of defense ethics and things of that nature. But from what I saw in the trial, I don't see anything there."
Mike Lawlor, associate professor at the University of New Haven and a nationally recognized expert on criminal justice reform, believes Chauvin's conviction will stick...
"If you had one of the jurors give an interview now that says, 'Look, I had my doubts, but I was afraid what would happen to me if I voted not guilty?'" Lawlor said. "I mean, if you've got that, you may not even need an appeal to get a mistrial."
And now, Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, has filed for a new trial...
And the news has caused outrage across the internet.
He is a disgrace to the Human Race!!! He is Cocky and he truly believes he's done nothing Wrong. He should be ashamed of himself!!!
— Richard and Bobbie Cavazos (@CavazosRichard) May 5, 2021
LOCK HIM UP FOR LIFE!!! NO parole either. He took a life he gives up his!
— Beth Wynn (@BethWyn92707694) May 5, 2021
Can George Floyd get his life back? Same answer.
— ArizonaSunshine (@rmwiersema) May 5, 2021
Seek all ya want, not happening!
— natdiggs (@wdigs) May 5, 2021
This is pointless....the DOJ was going to arrest him if he was found not guilty. Stop wasting tax dollars on trials that shouldn't need to take this long! The other officers aren't even going to trial till fall same with Rittenhouse! Its ridiculous how long they drag their feet!
— Sam Kinkopf (@Sam_Kinkopf) May 4, 2021
No. George Floyd's family has been through enough.
— lazyrivergal (@lazyrivergal) May 4, 2021
In a motion obtained by the Daily Mail, Nelson wrote that the court "deprived [Chauvin] of a fair trial."
"The Court abused its discretion when it denied Defendant's motion for a change of venue … in violation of Mr. Chauvin's constitutional rights to a due process and a fair trial," he wrote.
The file for a new trial comes just 1 day after news emerged that a juror had lied about attending a Black Lives Matter protest.
Juror, Brandon Mitchell, claimed he had never attended a protest, however it emerged that he was present at a rally last year where George Floyd's relatives addressed the crowd.
Though despite this revelation, Nelson's motion for a new trail did not specifically mention the juror.
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