We wish nothing but pain and suffering for Derek Chauvin. He doesn’t deserve a second chance. He doesn’t deserve clemency. He doesn’t deserve to be let off the hook for purposely kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for almost 9 minutes. He deserves a cold, damp, and desolate prison cell.
However, the law is the law, and according to FOX 9, the former Minneapolis Police Department officer is seeking a new trial and has filed for an appeal of his second-degree murder conviction. The renewed appeal was filed Nov. 20, following a previous denial by the Minneapolis Court of Appeals back in 2023. Let Chauvin’s lawyers tell it, the autopsy performed by Dr. Andrew Baker ruled that Floyd died from “cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression,” but did not cite evidence of asphyxia. In addition to Dr. Baker’s findings, four other doctors agreed with the asphyxia cause of death, but Chauvin’s reps say that their codifying opinion is based on video evidence, not science.
Essentially, the argument that the infamous video showing Chauvin cutting off Floyd’s oxygen supply for 9 minutes couldn’t have possibly been the reason that Floyd died…
Chauvin also argues that the use of the knee to the neck of suspects is standard protocol, and allegedly, 34 other current and former MPD officers have signed a statement saying that using the potentially fatal restraint method is part of their training.
KARE11 reports that Chauvin’s lawyer, Gregory Joseph, opened the 71-page appeal, making the argument that public opinion and outrage directly led to the court’s decision to convict his client.
“This Court is removed from the hysteria of the day and can finally look at the facts and evidence through a clear lens,” the documents read. “It is the first time a judicial officer can view the case without the pressure of the public mood.”
At this time, Chauvin isn’t set to be released from the Federal Correctional Institution until 2037
