Derek Chauvin is serving 20 years in federal prison for the death of George Floyd. He is in federal prison because he pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges after he already was convicted in state court. Pleading to the federal charges allowed him to serve his time in the presumbably better and safer federal system, since he surely would be a target of other inmates given the profile of the case.
As we have articulated and documented many times, Chauvin did not receive a fair trial:
Derek Chauvin did not get a fair trial for the killing of George Floyd. As the liberals like to say, “period, full stop.”We have covered this many times based on what actually happened in the trial, as opposed to the media coverage which was mostly dishonest. Much like the Michael Brown “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative was false, so too was the narrative that Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck “for 9 minutes.” The video doesn’t show that, and that wasn’t even the prosecution theory of guilt – Chauvin did have his knee on Floyd’s neck for a time, but mostly on the upper back and shoulder. The prosecution medical evidence of death was positional asphyxia, that the pressure on Floyd’s back while face down in the prone position made it impossible for Floyd to inhale, leading to death.I wrote near the end of the trial that there was evidence that Chauvin kept the pressure on Floyd too long, even after he was subdued, handcuffed, and unconscious, and that could provide a basis for conviction. It is possible that someone was guilty of a crime, but also did not receive a constitutionally required fair trial. This is such a case.
[Note: There has been some media buzz lately about supposedly new medical examiner evidence. It is not new, it was known, it was argued as part of the case.]
His appeals have been fruitless, with the Minnesota Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear the case.
The problems with the trial, which I watched live and Andrew Branca live-blogged, were enormous, starting with the open threat of violence and rioting if Chauvin was found not guilty. The trial took place in a fortress in Minneapolis with protesters all around, a mob scene which all but guaranteed a conviction no matter what. The trial judge refused to change venue.
According to numerous reports, Chauvin was stabbed and seriously injured:
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured Friday at a federal prison in Arizona, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.The attack happened at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the attack and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an incarcerated person was assaulted at FCI Tucson at around 12:30 p.m. local time Friday. In a statement, the agency said responding employees contained the incident and performed “life-saving measures” before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
MORE TO FOLLOW as more information becomes available.
Here are some of our prior posts demonstrating numerous problems with the Chauvin trial:
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY