Verdict Watch: Derek Chauvin Trial Day 16 – George Floyd Case
The jury in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd has reached a verdict in its second day of deliberations. Chauvin is guilty on ALL COUNTS!!!
Count 1. 2nd degree felony murder: GUILTY
Count 2. 3rd degree murder: GUILTY
Count 3. 2nd degree manslaughter: GUILTY
The state has filed a Blakely motion for aggravated sentencing, above and beyond guidelines. Arguments for the Blakely motion will be heard over the next couple of weeks. Chauvin could have had the jury make the call on aggravation factors, but he waived that right. Judge Cahill will now make that call.
Verdict Watch
The Trial of Derek Chauvin, 44, the fired Minneapolis police officer charged in the alleged murder or wrongful death of George Floyd, 46, is into its fourth week. Judge Peter Cahill presides.
The prosecution is led by the State’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, but it involves a large team, including several pro-bono high-profile lawyers, and has mostly been led by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank.
The Defense is being handled primarily by attorney Eric Nelson.
The Trial will take place approximately between approximately 10 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET., and the actual trial started on March 29, 2021.
The entire trial was lived streamed.
List of Jurors
- White man (chemist) in his 20’s (Original Number: potential juror 2)
- Multi-racial woman (excited to be on the panel) in her 20’s (No. 9)
- White man (auditor) in his 30’s (No. 19)
- Black man (IT worker, immigrant) in his 30’s (No. 27)
- White woman (health care executive, non-profit sector) in her 50’s. (No. 44)
- Black man (works in banking, coach, writer) in his 30’s (No. 52)
- White woman (executive assistant in health care clinic) in her 50’s (No. 55)
- Black man (works in management, immigrant) in his 40’s (No. 79)
- Multi-racial woman (consultant) in her 40’s (No. 85)
- White woman (registered nurse) in her 50s (No. 89)
- Black woman (worked in marketing, now retired) in her 60s (No. 91)
- White woman (commercial insurance worker) 40s (No. 92)
- White woman (unemployed, prior work in customer service) in her 50s (No. 96)
- White woman (social worker) in her 20s (No. 118)
- White man (accountant, plays tennis) in his 20s (131).
As seen on several widely seen videos, Derek Chauvin kneeled on the George Floyd’s neck for minutes during the arrest on May 25, 2020, while co-defendants Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were leaning onto Floyd’s back and legs. This persisted even after Floyd lost consciousness – for several minutes while they awaited an ambulance. Floyd, who was handcuffed behind his back, was face down on the street. He was saying that he could not breathe – a complaint first heard while he was standing on the side-walk side of the police vehicle the officers were trying to put him into. Bystanders demanded Chauvin remove the knee – telling Chauvin that he was killing the man, and somewhat angrily asking him to stop. By the time the paramedics arrived, Floyd had been unresponsive for minutes, and his body was limp as he was put onto a stretcher.
The question before jurors is whether this constituted second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder, or whether Chauvin is innocent of all charges.
According to the government’s autopsy, Floyd death was ruled a homicide (death at the hand of another), due to cardiopulmonary arrest suffered while officers restrained him. The defense will likely argue that other findings in the autopsy explain the death and exculpates Chauvin – that Floyd did have arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, and that there was fentanyl in his system, as well as evidence of recent meth use. The defense is also expected to argue that the death happened because Floyd chewed on pills during the attempted arrest.
