Can you all confirm the path to 2nd degree murder?
What Chauvin did was excessive force.
Excessive force = assault.
Assault resulting in death = 2nd degree murder.
Now we know why Chauvin tried to plead guilty. Justice was served in that verdict and I have some grim satisfaction. I can’t celebrate the result, as much as I wanted it. A man died a horrid death and this doesn’t bring him back but it does help. May Chauvin never see the light of day as a free man.
Yeah, I hope this doesn’t get spun into “everything is fine, the system is great”.
I was thinking the same thing: we still have a long ways to go. In a very small way Chauvin was let down by the system. He got away with lesser actions for a long time and should have been permanently fired years ago. If he had he’d be a free man and George Floyd would be alive. We need reform and police need to be held accountable for lesser crimes.
I don’t feel joyful at all. Just relieved a little bit.
I expected to feel happier than I do.
I didn’t realize it was that charge (“unintentional”). You’re right, in that case.
I don’t feel happy. I doubt many of us do.
I feel like for today, the world made sense.
It may well have made a difference that there were cops testifying against him.
A good outcome from this would be if racist asshole police officers now start thinking to themselves “I shouldn’t kill this guy just because he’s black and I feel like being an asshole today.”
A better outcome from this would be if the racist assholes start thinking “I shouldn’t sign up to be a cop.”
Well, all verdicts are, aren’t they? 
I don’t get how it works if you’re convicted of three different counts of killing the same person.
He serves the sentences concurrently.
I’m definitely not celebrating the verdict, as I don’t believe justice being served should be cause for celebration. It’s too solemn, and too much is at stake. Also, it’s supposed to be the norm and for everyone.
However, I am encouraged by the cracking of the Blue Wall, and I’m hopeful cops will see that the Wall hurts them and society as a whole. That won’t happen without a continued, concerted push by the rest of us.
It was the judge who read the verdict.
Relieved is more the feeling I have at the moment.
I was not anticipating the level of anxiety I felt when I suddenly heard they had reached a verdict.
That’s not exactly right.
It’s basically:
- Was it a justified use of force by a police officer? If so, acquit. If not, go to step 2.
- Were Chauvin’s actions a substantial cause of Floyd’s death. If no, acquit. If yes, go to step 3.
- Did Chauvin intentionally assault George Floyd? If yes, then you have “unintentional felony murder” - he killed somebody due to his actions during the commission of a felony.
That’s about it. Basically he didn’t have to mean to kill him, but he did have to mean to cause him pain, and it couldn’t be a use of force a reasonable police officer would have used.
Sooooo, had the verdict gone the other way, there would have been widespread expectations of unrest, along with pleas for peace and civil behavior.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I have concern that the Blue Lives Matter side might be feeling a little wound up right about now, and could act out. I hope someone is tracking any uptick in police overuse of force in the coming days/weeks/months. I also hope someone who is a respected voice on that side is loudly proclaiming pleas for peace and civil behavior.
I was in the other room…I was too nervous to watch it!
In my defense, every time I’ve been on jury duty (a bunch of times) the bailiff read the verdict.
In Michigan, I have served on two criminal trials and was the foreman in both. I read the verdicts in both.
I waited for more verdicts than I can count in my career, and it’s never different. Fraught with drama and dread.
It’s different everywhere. In California, I read the verdicts (judge’s assistant). This allows the judge to keep his eyes on the proceedings and the bailiff to keep his eyes on the defendant.
To me, the only downside was I could never watch the reactions of the parties around the courtroom. I could always hear them, though.
https://statelaws.findlaw.com/minnesota-law/minnesota-first-degree-murder.html
The above is First Degree Murder in MN. I don’t think that it fits.