What the Jury Got Wrong with Their Derek Chauvin Verdicts

April 20, 2021 11:11pm

Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts today for causing George Floyd's death. But it was not justice; it was a travesty.

Chauvin deserves time in prison for the actual crime he committed not for the crimes he didn't commit but was charged with to appease the mob. And there is simply no objective interpretation of Minnesota law that justifies his two murder convictions.

Murder in the Second Degree (Minnesota Statute 609.19) has two classes; intentional and unintentional. Intentional second degree murder is when a person "causes the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of that person or another, but without premeditation." No legitimate argument can be made that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd. Unintentional second degree murder is when a person "causes the death of a human being, without intent to effect the death of any person, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense." Not only was Chauvin's knee-to-the-neck not a felony, it is a restraint maneuver that is authorized and taught by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Murder in the Third Degree (Minnesota Statute 609.195) is when a person "without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life." While an argument can certainly be made that placing a knee on someone's neck is "eminently dangerous," trained Minneapolis police officers are specifically authorized to perform it. Also, a "depraved mind" is a necessary component of the crime. The statute requires both an eminently dangerous act AND a depraved mind. The act alone is not enough. And a depraved mind is not enough. They must BOTH be present simultaneously. Based upon the number of citizen complaints against Chauvin over the years, it appears that he's an asshole. But that's not the same as depraved.

Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Minnesota Statute 609.205) is when "by the person's culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another." That does describe what Chauvin did. While his knee-to-the-neck maneuver was authorized, its duration of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, including 2 minutes and 53 seconds after Floyd became non-responsive was not authorized. Chauvin was quite clearly negligent, created unreasonable risk, and consciously took the chance of causing death or great bodily harm to Mr. Floyd. That's the exact definition of second degree manslaughter in Minnesota. So THAT is the crime he committed; not murder.

But this case was not "Minnesota v. Chauvin." It was "Minnesota v. Every Claim Ever Made About Systemic Racism Committed by the Police Anywhere in America." And the jury found America guilty.

The jury knew there would be massive destruction by violent mobs across the country if they had acquitted him. And since the jury was not sequestered, they were almost certainly aware that a severed pig’s head and splattered pig’s blood was left at the former home of a former police officer who had testified for Chauvin’s defense. Those clear threats certainly denied Chauvin his right to a fair trial also.

I was surprised Chauvin’s defense attorney did not immediately ask the judge to set aside the two verdicts on the murder charges.

I expect the verdicts will be appealed. But an appeal cannot be based upon a dislike of the outcome. Appeals must be based upon alleged errors by the trial court. So were there errors? Probably.

The judge’s decision to not sequester the jury will likely be part of the appeal.

The defense lawyer asked the judge for a mistrial based on Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ call for protesters to "stay on the street" and "get more confrontational" if Chauvin was acquitted. The request wasn’t granted, but the judge himself said it could be grounds for the verdicts being thrown out by an appeals court.

During closing arguments, the prosecutor said at least 20 times that the defense was lying or fabricating evidence. That is not permitted at a criminal trial. The defense attorney objected three times, but the judge did not stop the prosecutor from continuing with that clear violation of courtroom rules.

Sentencing is scheduled to occur in eight weeks. The appeals process will take years. But if there is any justice in this case, the convictions will be tossed, and Chauvin will be found guilty of only 2nd degree manslaughter at his retrial.

One final point. Did you see how, after the verdict, Derek Chauvin peacefully placed his hands behind his back and allowed himself to be handcuffed and taken into custody? Imagine where this nation would be if George Floyd had done the same. Or if Michael Brown had done the same. Or Daunte Wright. Or Eric Garner. Or Alton Sterling. Or Dante Parker. Or Xzavier Hill. Or Patrick Harmon. Or Jamee Johnson. Or Dolal Idd. Or Rodney Applewhite. Or Joshua Feast. Or Maurice Gordon. Or Jamar Clark. Or Keith Lamont Scott. Or De'Von Bailey. Or Christian Taylor. Or Miles Hall. Or Kajieme Powell. Or Sean Reed. Or Yassin Mohamed. Or Tony McDade. Or JaQuavion Slaton. Or Antwon Rose Jr. Or Trayford Pellerin. Or Ezell Ford. Or Ariane McCree. Or Dijon Kizzee. Or Terrance Franklin. Or Anthony Lamar Smith. Or Akiel Denkins. Or Finan Berhe. Or Ramarley Graham. Or the hundreds of other people who would be alive today if they had simply complied with the lawful instructions of police officers.