April 17th 2023.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has affirmed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's conviction for the death of George Floyd in 2020.
(Image Source: https://metro.co.uk) Chauvin was found guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. He had also pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights in December 2021 and was sentenced to an additional 21 years, which he is serving concurrently with his state sentence.
On Monday, a panel of three judges unanimously rejected Chauvin’s plea for a new trial. His attorney had argued that Judge Peter Cahill had committed errors by refusing the defendant’s requests to move the trial out of Minneapolis and sequester the jury due to extensive media coverage. However, the appeals court found that Judge Cahill had taken proper precautions by sequestering potential jurors during jury selection and by banning video and audio recordings of the pre-trial proceedings.
The court also rejected Chauvin’s argument that as a police officer he could not be convicted of the crime of unintentional murder because he was authorized to use force to arrest resisting suspects. Presiding Judge Peter Reyes wrote that ‘no one is above the law. When they commit a crime, they must be held accountable just as those individuals that they lawfully apprehend.’ He added that the law only permits police officers to use reasonable force when effecting a lawful arrest, and ‘Chauvin crossed that line here when he used unreasonable force on Floyd.’
The appeals court's decision serves as an affirmation of justice and a reminder that no one is above the law.
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