Following the days of the tragic George Floyd murder, the Minneapolis policer officer was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Initially, third-degree murder was an option for a charge, but Peter Hill, the district judge, thought it didn't apply to this case. However, this door was once again opened when appeals court case ruled that third-degree murder can in fact be charged when aimed at a single person. Third-degree murder is typically charged when the people surrounding the criminal is in danger, but the Noor's case proved different setting a new precedent for the George Floyd case. It being made clear that anything will be done in other to get the ex-cop in jail with the growing number of charges. Second-degree murder has a max charge of 40 years in jail, whereas third-degree murder has a max charge of 25 years. In unison with the lesser years in charger, it's a lot easier to convict as not much evidence is required to prove third-degree murder. Furthermore, Derek Chauvin has no history of committing crimes and it's estimated that he'll be serving 12 to 13 years in prison. Even so, there's many instances where American citizens filed complaints about Chauvin, resulting in no disciplinary action which are considered crimes in the eyes of others. There are also problems with finding impartial judges on the high-profile case. Even one of the jurors that the prosecutors chose stated having a "very negative" view of the client (Chauvin). So far, 5 jurors have been chosen including 3 white men, 1 black man, and a woman of mixed race. It's unknown whether or not the white jurors will empathize more for Chauvin, or if the colored people will have a more negatively biased opinion, so it makes one wonder if the final decision will even be neutral. With thousands of people still heavily affected and watching the court updates, every single decision is important, prolonging the process of conviction. Though the charge of third-degree murder has minimal probable-cause, the prosecutors may feel obligated to make sure the general population gets what they want, which is at least some prolonged charge.
What your opinion on the additional charge? Is it unnecessary? Is it some safety net acting as a precaution to failing the second-degree murder charge? Will the identity of the jurors significantly affect the outcome of the case?
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/us/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-charges/index.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/11/judge-oks-murder-charge-police-george-floyd-475302
https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-trial-murder-charge-explained-5e7c935f560219caee61fcc0bef0a23d
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9846650/minneapolis-police-derek-chauvin-history-force
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/11/976008607/chauvin-trial-judge-reinstates-3rd-degree-murder-charge-over-george-floyds-killi
3 comments:
First, I am surprised that Mr. Chauvin has not attempt to do a plea bargain and have a short time in prison. I would think that officer would not want all of the public drama but I guess another factors have cause him to have a public trail Probably you can't plea bargain with murder. Second I am shocked that current majority of the jurors are white, I know that minneapolis is a diverse place.
George Floyd's trial will be one to follow. His murder and the constant mistreatment that Black men unproportionally face at the hands of police will continue to be a serious problem even after this trial concludes. I recently learned that Floyd's Family and the Minneapolis City Council have agreed up a $27 million civil settlement; the largest settlement of its kind. My sympathies of course still go out to Mr. FLoyd's Family and all those affected, no amount of money will bring him back, but this settlement will hopefully foster change in the occurrence of these issues and the future of police misconduct.
As for selecting the least-bias jury, that is proving to be an insanely challenging task. The reasons why so many possible jurors have been let go/ not chosen, are not surprising, but nonetheless very saddening. One prospective juror told the Defense Attorney that she would not be able to stay impartial after hearing the facts of the case and seeing the tragic video; "When that happened, it leaned me so far to one side over the other that I couldn't say under oath I'd be able to take that out of my mind.”
The jurors on this trial seem to be ever adapting and being forced to change; CBS reported just 4 hours ago that two more prospective jurors were let go after learning the settlement amount. A key point needed in all the jurors is being able to separate themselves from the issue and to impartially hear both sides of the case. With such a tragically public death and the following public outcry, Mr. Floyd's trial makes that difficult.
I hope that the Defense Team will be able to find 12 impartial jurors, but would not be surprised if the juror selection pushes out the trial date.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/03/15/chauvin-trial-jury-george-floyd
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/derek-chauvin-trial-jurors-dismissed-27-million-settlement-george-floyd/
George Floyd’s trial is on track to be a landmark case in the United States. I do think that the additional charge of third-degree murder is functioning as a safety net incase they fail to get the second-degree murder charge. It could backfire however because it gives the jury the opportunity to decide that he deserves that lesser charge as it is an option now. The fact that the jury is primarily white is cause for concern seeing as this case is a racial matter with a lot of controversy and attention surrounding it. It is also very questionable seeing as the trial is taking place in Minneapolis which is definitely not lacking in diversity. It could significantly affect the outcome because since the case is a huge racial issue, white jurors could have been unfairly selected in favor of Derek Chauvin, the officer on trial for outright murdering George Floyd.
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