The US Supreme Court refused the previous Monday Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin‘s Appealing his conviction for second-degree murder in a murder George Floyd During arrest in 2020.
Floyd’s killing sparked widespread protests across the country against… Police brutalityfocusing on the issue of racial justice.
The justices refused to hear Chauvin’s appeal after the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld his appeal Murder conviction 2021 His request for a new trial was denied.
Chauvin’s lawyers argued that their client was denied a fair trial in 2021 because of pretrial publicity and fears of violence in the event of an acquittal.
He was found guilty by a 12-member jury In April 2021, she was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter, after a three-week trial that included testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts.
Look He is serving a prison sentence of 22 and a half years To kill the black man by He knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes During arrest.
His lawyer urged the Supreme Court to allow the appeal to consider whether the jurors were biased by a desire to avoid “the threat of harm to the community if a guilty verdict is not reached.” Chauvin’s attorney also said one juror may have concealed potential bias by not disclosing during the jury selection process that he had attended an “anti-police George Floyd rally.”
Minnesota state lawyers did not respond to Chauvin’s petition and asked the Supreme Court to hear his appeal.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals in April rejected Chauvin’s appeal, upholding his conviction and denying his request for a new trial. The Minnesota Supreme Court in July denied Chauvin’s request to reconsider the case, prompting him to file an appeal with the US Supreme Court.
In a May 25, 2020, confrontation that was captured on video by onlookers, Chauvin pushed his knee into the 46-year-old’s neck while he and three fellow officers attempted to arrest Floyd.
Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a grocery store.
A bystander video showed Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death sparked protests around the world, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and human rights abuses. racism Who is still playing.
Three other former officers who were at the scene received reduced state and federal sentences for their roles in Floyd’s death.
Additional reports from agencies
