The name Derek Chauvin will forever be linked to the Black Lives Matter Movement for his role in causing the death of George Floyd that sparked it all.
Many of us weren’t expecting to hear from the convicted murderer for a long time following his 22-year prison sentence last summer. However, that day unfortunately came far too soon now that he’s making headlines in an attempt to get his guilty conviction appealed.
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ABC News confirms that attorneys for the former Minneapolis police officer asked an appeals court on Monday to either reverse his conviction, reverse his conviction and grant him a new trial in a different venue, or return the case to a lower court for resentencing. They’re citing pretrial publicity, safety concerns made by the jurors, potential riots in the event of Chauvin’s acquittal and physical threats on the courthouse itself as ample reasoning that prove he received an unfair trial.
More details on Derek Chauvin’s current appeal below, via ABC News:
“The court filing argued that a change of venue, which was previously denied by the lower court, was necessary in this case.
‘There are few cases involving such violent threats by the community in the event the jury finds the defendant not guilty. Those cases — which all involved defendant police officers — required transfer of venue,’ the attorneys said in the filing.
The threat of violence was ‘extreme,’ and because jurors were not sequestered, they saw this every day during trial, Chauvin’s lawyers said in the filing.
‘The courthouse was surrounded by barbed wire and soldiers during the trial. Prior to jury deliberations, National Guard troops were deployed throughout Minneapolis, businesses boarded up their buildings and schools were closed ‘bracing for a riot’ in the event Chauvin’s acquittal,’ the filing said.”
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On the option of getting his sentence reduced, Chauvin’s lawyers pointed out that presumptive sentencing for someone without a criminal history is 150 months compared to the 270 months their client received. They even went as far as to claim that Chauvin was authorized to put hands on Floyd under Minnesota law, writing in the 72-page court filing, “Chauvin is a police officer statutorily authorized to commit ‘assaults’ to effect an arrest,” also adding, “in order for a police officer to be convicted of murder, Minnesota statutes require the officer to be using ‘deadly force’ — force one knows will cause either death or ‘great bodily harm.’ Putting your knees on the back of a suspect does not create a ‘substantial risk of causing, death or great bodily harm.'”
…what?! We’d like to see how long they survive if someone put their whole knee on your neck to stop the flow of oxygen — you know, that stuff all of our bodies need to stay alive.
Derek Chauvin is currently incarcerated on second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges stemming from the May 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota due to excessive police force. Let’s hope he continues to serve his full and rightful term behind bars.
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