If this had any exculpatory value, then I could walk into an end-of-life hospice with a .357 and blow people away with impunity.
Every time I see or hear it, has me thinking chauvinist.
Honestly, coronary disease is going to eventually get a very large fraction of all of us. Yeah, it likely would have eventually gotten Floyd, too. Except it didn’t, because something else killed him first.
The law school of example of 3rd degree murder in Minnesota is shooting a bullet into a moving train and a random passenger gets stuck and killed, something beyond the realm of “reckless” into the territory of “depraved” and with intent to kill not a necessary element, and a specific intended victim not a necessary element. It’s been used several times against drug dealers whose fentanyl laced product causes the death of someone that uses it, and in fact GF’s drug dealer refused to testify for fear he’d get hit with a 3rd degree murder charge himself.
The problem isn’t so much getting a conviction, since the last minute legal precedent is now that “others” can be a specific single person as opposed to someone at random, but if it stands up on appeal, since the case law on whether it can apply this way is so new and shaky. The prosecution wanted it so bad because 2nd degree murder charge actually requires an element of intent for the underlying felony, the 3rd degree assault charge, and it’s going to be hard to prove any kind of intent beyond a reasonable doubt. DC isn’t going to get up on the stand say “I intended to assault him”, nor did he do something that would unambiguously show intent, like go back to the squad car to retrieve a weapon.
I’m curious if Chauvin testifies. He’s the only one that can explain his thought process and decisions.
I’m not sure it will do any good, but what else can the defense offer? I seriously doubt any experts will come forward supporting the way Chauvin pinned Floyd in a prone position.
We’ve gotten hints of the defense during cross. They don’t appear to have much.
Does it really matter if Chauvin’s leg was on his neck or back? All that means is the difference between killing Floyd though closing off his airway or through positional asphyxiation.
I may be wrong, but I think the latter is an authorized police restraint and the former is not.
I have had this thought, but it’s not nearly as egregious as Bernie “Made off”
Either way, the writing in this series can be very lazy at times.
Neither is authorized for 9 1/2 minutes after a person is already restrained, and I believe (although I haven’t watched all of the testimony, and may be wrong) that the police testimony made clear that Chauvin violated protocol for holding Floyd in that position, with force, for as long as he did, regardless of the specific location of the knee.
Chauvin shouldn’t be exonerated just because a juror thinks that he merely knelt on Floyd’s back. He still restricted his breathing and led directly to him dying, in a way that police have testified was wrong and contrary to training.
Someone else killed him first.
I can’t recall, is this jury sequestered? I hope so, don’t want a mistrial now.
It’ll be relevant after yesterday. They need to reveal details, body cam’s, and get an explanation out there… The last thing that city needs is another misconduct case.
The jury is not sequestered. They mention it in this news clip.
not sequestered, and i can’t see how they could not know what happened. if they stayed away from tv and radio, they would get alerts on their phones.
i had alerts about mn, va, and ga, and i don’t live in the three states.
Yeah, it’s unlikely most of them didn’t hear, given the proximity. That said, I myself didn’t hear until this thread. (But I live in Chicago.) No phone alerts or anything, either, but I rarely get any news alerts on my phone.
the defence has asked that the jury be sequestered. the judge has declined.
trial to resume shortly. the prosecution is expect to finish their case today.
The hearing answered a question that’s been nagging me. I had wondered why Floyd’s car stayed in that spot. 2 employees came out from Cupps Food. The car still didn’t leave. It just sat there until police arrive.
Hall’s statement reveals that Floyd was unresponsive. Falls asleep behind the wheel. The woman passenger calls her family to come get her.
It’s unfortunate the jury probably won’t hear any of Hall’s statement. I think it would help both sides to offer him immunity and get him to testify. He had a unique view of the police actions.
There won’t be a mistrial because of the shooting in Brooklyn Center. The circumstances between Mr. Floyd and this case are completely different.
You have to think that somewhere in the USA there are cops use-of-force “experts” eager to testify to exactly that. It’s a very big country.
Floyd’s brother is testifying now. This must be a unique thing to Minnesota. I’m not sure why it is allowed. It has no bearing whatsoever on the issues to be determined by the jury. A picture of George Floyd as a baby? Seriously?
the judge has ruled that mr hall will not testify. he also mentioned that he expected to wrap up today at around 4.