Former US Police Officer Chauvin Wants New Trial Over George Floyd’s Murder

© SputnikPeople knealt their knee in memory of George Floyd during commemorating event in Minneapolis
People knealt their knee in memory of George Floyd during commemorating event in Minneapolis - Sputnik International, 1920, 27.04.2022
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Late last year, former US police officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to charges of federal civil rights violations in relation to the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Chauvin was found guilty of the Afro-American man's murder and sentenced to 22.5 years behind bars.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder for killing African American former convict and nightclub bouncer George Floyd, is seeking a new trial, Fox News has reported.
Chauvin's attorney William Mohrman asserted in a brief on Monday that it was impossible for his client to get a fair trial in Minneapolis due to the tense atmosphere pertaining to the proceedings and the pre-trial publicity.
Mohrman argued that the media coverage of the case “glorified Floyd and demonised Chauvin”, also asserting that jurors were concerned for their safety and that of their loved ones, as well as the possible consequences if the ex-police officer was acquitted.
“Juror No. 87 stated that she was ‘nervous’ because this was a high profile case and Minneapolis ‘blew up after the incident. Juror 28 stated ’the decision the jury makes has maybe broader implications, reactions from the general public,' and 'knowing that the people, general public, is paying attention to the decision and more pressure, I guess, to get it right”, the lawyer claimed.
Additionally, he claimed that the jurors were not sequestered as tensions escalated over the police killing of 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota during the Chauvin trial.

Trial of Derek Chauvin

After being convicted of Floyd's murder during the June 2021 trial, Chauvin pleaded not guilty to a civil rights violation, and so did his three former colleagues. Charged with murder and manslaughter, he was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison and finally pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd’s rights in December.
46-year-old Floyd died in police custody in late May 2020, when Chauvin (who is white) kneeled on him when on the ground for almost 10 minutes. A video that showed his arrest and death quickly went viral and caused a wide public uproar, prompting a wave of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests turned violent, resulting in more than a dozen deaths and scores of injuries during accidental shootings and clashes with the police, as well as widespread looting. The mood has spread to other countries with demonstrations condemning systematic racism within police units held in London, Paris, Berlin, and other major cities across the world.
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