After 330 days since George Floyd’s death sparked international outrage, Derek Chauvin’s trial has finally come to a close. Chauvin was found guilty on a second and third-degree murder charge, as well as a second-degree manslaughter charge in a unanimous decision by the Jury on Tuesday afternoon. Chauvin faces up to 75 years of prison time for all 3 charges when his sentence is decided in 8 weeks time. The trial lasted for a total of 3 weeks hearing testimonies from dozens of witnesses and medical professionals.
Many eye witnesses like Darnella Franzier who was 17 at the time of the arrest and filmed the arrest testified that she felt like the situation wasn’t right and “[Floyd] was suffering.” Both sides asked the important questions that help paint their arguments on whether Chauvin violated police policy by putting his knee on Floyds Neck for 9 ½ minutes and what possible role drugs had in Floyd’s death. Minneappolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified that “Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped.” Medaria condemned Chauvin’s use of force saying it violated police policy which was a similar theme in several different law enforcement testimonies like Sgt. Jody Stiger, a use of force expert with the Los Angeles Police Department. The prosecution also called Dr. Martin J. Tobin, a world-renowned breathing expert to testify who stated that Mr. Floyd “died from a lock of oxygen imposed by the restraint” In the end the Jury agreed with the prosecution that Chauvin’s use of force caused Floyd to die from a lack of oxygen and rejected the defense’s argument that Floyd died from illegal drug usage and a pre-existing heart condition.
In a congratulatory call following the conviction, President Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris told the Floyd family that "We're all so relieved. We're going to get a lot more done." Biden later addressed the verdict of the trial claiming it can be “A moment of significant change,” to rid the stain on America's soul. He denounced Chauvin’s actions calling it "murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see [systemic racism]."
Questions to consider:
1. What changes do you think should be enacted to prevent cases of police brutality, and deaths like George Floyds in the future?
2. How should we remember both Floyd and Chauvin?
7 comments:
After George Floyd's death almost a year ago, it is satisfying to finally see justice served for Floyd and his family. It's scary to even imagine what the impact would've been had the jury not found Chauvin guilty, and after so much conflict there is a small comfort in knowing the hard work of so many Americans truly did pay off with this charge. However, this ruling is only a small step towards the end of police brutality and the end of systematic racism in this country. Since Chauvin's trial begin, it feels as through there is another jarring story in which a Black American is wrongly killed by police everyday. Daunte Wright, Ma'Khia Bryant, and Adam Toledo are just a few names of Americans who have were recent victims of police killings. I believe that it is important that when officers make a decision that results in the end of a human's life, the situation is thoroughly investigated and that justice is served. Hopefully Chauvin's case will set a precedent of justice.
I am extremely glad that not only did the jury find Chauvin guilty on all of these accounts but also that the decision was unanimous. In such cases which represent a very fundamental and concerning reality, unanimity is key to send a message not only to those involved in the case, but to the whole nation: that these actions (the horrifying murder of George Floyd) are detestable, and change is necessary. Although I realize that it is the job of either side to protect their clients, I am disgusted that Chauvin's lawyers explained George Floyd's death was due to things like illegal drug use, avoiding the situation for what it was: a murder.
Although the Brown v Board case differs from this on many levels, I think back to it at this time. Just like this case, Brown v Board was groundbreaking as it made a statement, detesting segregation. Similar to the results of this trial, Thurgood Marshall worked to bring Supreme Court justices to a unanimous decision. However, if we have learnt anything from history, one can remember that in cases such as Brown v. Board, although justice was served, the path did not end there. Segregation still existed and had to be combated for the decades to follow (and must still be combated today). Similarly, this trial is just the first step to true justice to millions of black Americans and the fear they must live in. President Biden and Kamala Harris were right to note that there is still much to do.
I find it sad that a lot of people are surprised by the court's decision. We have gotten to the point where people expect cops to just be let off the hook, even when there is damning evidence such as the video shot by Darnella Frazier. But it is definitely a relief that the court charged him on all counts.
Without Darnella Frazier's video, I doubt any of this would've happened. The police report written about the incident depicts the murder of George Floyd as a death due to "medical distress," and without Frazier's footage, Chauvin's disgusting actions would probably have gone unpunished. It really raises the question about how many other unreasonable deaths were just written up as "medical distress" to cover up what actually happened. You can read about the report here: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/us/minneapolis-police-george-floyd-death/index.html
Another thing I find sad is that many far right political commentators are calling the conviction unjust. The prosecution in the trial was very strong and disproved a lot of the claims that many commentators are making. It's sad that this conviction can be twisted by some to make it seem unjust, even though Chauvin deserves to be put in prison for his actions.
Finally, to address Harbani's point about the defense, I'm sure Chauvin's defense had to fabricate some other reason for Floyd's death to defend Chauvin, but all their claims were completely debunked during a cross exam of a doctor. I don't think Chauvin had any reasonable defense (especially with the video as evidence), so they had to make something up. The court's decision reflects the fact that the incident was murder, and I am relieved by that.
I was reading an article describing how social scientists don't expect there to be large direct drastic change from protests, which is a reason why I think this court case was so politically important, as much as it was important socially. The decision made by the court would be marking government change rather than social change. One reason this is important is because it is extremely difficult to change what is acceptable by a society without either influencing the entire population, or through policy enforcement to convey that certain actions are not acceptable. With racism being such an overwhelming issue in the United States, it is extremely important to enforce equal rights. In this situation, I would argue that the court displayed that both racism and murder are unacceptable actions. In my opinion, it will take a lot of time for this rationale to be normalized in many populations where racism is prominent, however this is definitely a step in the right direction.
(Why this is so important: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/08/14/why-are-people-still-racist-what-science-says-about-americas-race-problem/)
Of course I am glad that Chauvin was found guilty, and glad that it was a unanimous decision, but it is disappointing that this is a surprising one. A blatant act of racism and violence, by normal standards, we should all expect to be convicted. However across social media, there is a lot of people defending Chauvin. I don't know much about law, so I can't say specifically what I would want to change, but I think as stated many times before, those areas where racism and violence is normalized needs to change somehow. Whether they change legally or they change on their own, they need to be changed. What also needs to change is police officers who abuse their power need to be addressed sooner and not just due to publicity. There are extremely viral videos going around of police brutality, and many of the police officers are terminated after the video gains traction. I don't know for sure if that is the only reason they get terminated, but it seems to be the trend and that many officers are more scared of how they are perceived in the public rather than preserving peace like they should.
I think Chauvin should be remembered as a criminal. Like others have said, I do not understand why people are defending Chauvin when he committed murder and ought to be punished for it. Chauvin’s actions highlighted how the issues of police brutality and systemic racism are prevalent in society. I find Pariya’s point very interesting. If Darnella Frazier did not record the murder, things would have turned out completely differently. Chauvin would not be remembered as a notorious criminal and Floyd might not be remembered at all, only becoming one of many nameless victims of police brutality. Hopefully people have reached closure from this verdict knowing that justice has been delivered.
It is very exciting that Derek Chauvin was unanimously found guilty on three counts of murder for the death of George Floyd. I am hopeful that this instance of accountability in a racially motivated crime will set a new precedent for police brutality and similar cases in the future, as well as lead to more steps toward tearing down the institutionalized racism that has plagued the United States for a ridiculous number of years. However, it is unfortunate that this is something to be excited over. Derek Chauvin outright murdered George Floyd and it was caught on camera. It wasn’t an accident, it was murder. The fact that his guilt was even in question considering the amount of evidence is disgusting, and clearly shows the prominence of racism still in this country.
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