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Judge rejects Chauvin’s request for new trial in George Floyd death

MINNEAPOLIS — A judge has rejected former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s request for a new trial in George Floyd’s death.

Judge Peter Cahill denied the request Friday, saying defense attorney Eric Nelson has not shown that abused its discretion and denied Chauvin the right to a fair trial.

Chauvin, 45, pinned Floyd to a Minneapolis street for about 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, ignoring the Black man’s cries of “I can’t breathe” and the shouts of onlookers. Bystander video of Floyd’s death sparked protests in Minneapolis, some violent, and quickly spread around the world.

Chauvin faces decades in prison, with several legal experts predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. Though Chauvin is widely expected to appeal, he also still faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along with three other fired officers who have yet to have their state trials.

 

The concrete barricades, razor wire and National Guard patrols that shrouded the county courthouse for Chauvin’s three-week trial are gone, and so is most of the tension in the city as it awaited a verdict in April.

Still, there’s a recognition that Chauvin’s sentencing will be another major step forward for a city that has been on edge since Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.

“Between the incident, the video, the riots, the trial – this is the pinnacle of it,” Mike Brandt, a local defense attorney who has closely followed Chauvin’s case, said. “The verdict was huge too, but this is where the justice comes down.”

Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe and went limp.

Bystander video of Floyd’s arrest for suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill prompted protests around the world and a nationwide reckoning on race and police brutality.

Under Minnesota statutes, Chauvin will be sentenced only on the most serious charge, which has a maximum sentence of 40 years. But case law dictates that a 30-year sentence would be the practical maximum sentence Judge Peter Cahill could impose without risk of being overturned on appeal.

Prosecutors asked for 30 years, saying Chauvin’s actions were egregious and “shocked the nation’s conscience.” Defense attorney Eric Nelson requested probation, saying Chauvin was the product of a “broken” system and “believed he was doing his job.”

Artist Dennis Owes, 31, from Ghana gives the last touch to his portrait of George Floyd during a rally on Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Brooklyn borough of New York. George Floyd, whose May 25, 2020 death in Minneapolis was captured on video, plead for air as he was pinned under the knee of former officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder and manslaughter in April 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Cahill has already found that aggravating factors in Floyd’s death warrant going higher than the 12 1/2-year sentence recommended by the state’s sentencing guidelines. The judge found Chauvin abused his position of authority, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, and that the crime was seen by several children. He also wrote that Chauvin knew the restraint of Floyd was dangerous.

“The prolonged use of this technique was particularly egregious in that George Floyd made it clear he was unable to breathe and expressed the view that he was dying as a result of the officers’ restraint,” Cahill wrote last month.floyd

Attorneys on both sides are expected to make brief arguments Friday. Floyd’s family members – including his brother Philonise, his brother Terrence and his nephew Brandon Williams – will give statements in court.

Ben Crump, an attorney who has represented Floyd’s family, said family members were feeling “anxious and tense” ahead of the sentencing.

“To us, George Floyd is a cause. He’s a case; he’s a hashtag. To them — that’s their flesh and blood. You know, that that’s their brother,” Crump said.

The three other officers are also scheduled for trial in March on state charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter.

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