The Trial of Derek Chauvin, 44, the fired Minneapolis police officer charged in the alleged murder or wrongful death of George Floyd, 46, is set to start.
Judge Peter Cahill presides.
The prosecution is led by the State’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, but it involves a large team, including several pro-bono high-profile lawyers, and has mostly been led by
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank.
The Defense is being handled primarily by attorney Eric Nelson.
The Trial will take place approximately between approximately 10 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET., and the actual trial starts on March 29, 2021 (Monday Morning).
The entire trial will be live streamed on this channel, with chat and comments open (please be respectful of the accused and the victim and their families when commenting). The selected jurors are as follows:
#1 – White man (chemist) in his 20’s (Original Number: potential juror 2)
#2 – Multi-racial woman (excited to be on the panel) in her 20’s (No. 9)
#3 – White man (auditor) in his 30’s (No. 19)
#4 – Black man (IT worker, immigrant) in his 30’s (No. 27)
#5 – White woman (health care executive, non-profit sector) in her 50’s. (No. 44)
#6 – Black man (works in banking, coach, writer) in his 30’s (No. 52)
#7 – White woman (executive assistant in health care clinic) in her 50’s (No. 55)
#8 – Black man (works in management, immigrant) in his 40’s (No. 79)
#9 – Multi-racial woman (consultant) in her 40’s (No. 85)
#10 – White woman (registered nurse) in her 50s (No. 89)
#11 – Black woman (worked in marketing, now retired) in her 60s (No. 91)
#12 – White woman (commercial insurance worker) 40s (No. 92)
#13 – White woman (unemployed, prior work in customer service) in her 50s (No. 96)
#14 – White woman (social worker) in her 20s (No. 118)
#15 – White man (accountant, plays tennis) in his 20s (131).
As seen on several widely seen videos, Derek Chauvin kneeled on the George Floyd’s neck for minutes during the arrest on May 25, 2020, while co-defendants Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were leaning onto Floyd’s back and legs. This persisted even after Floyd lost consciousness – for several minutes while they awaited an ambulance. Floyd, who was handcuffed behind his back, was face down on the street. He was saying that he could not breathe – a complaint first heard while he was standing on the side-walk side of the police vehicle the officers were trying to put him into. Bystanders demanded Chauvin remove the knee – telling Chauvin that he was killing the man, and somewhat angrily asking him to stop. By the time the paramedics arrived, Floyd had been unresponsive for minutes, and his body was limp as he was put onto a stretcher.
The question before jurors is whether this constituted second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder, or whether Chauvin is innocent of all charges.
According to the government’s autopsy, Floyd death was ruled a homicide (death at the hand of another), due to cardiopulmonary arrest suffered while officers restrained him. The defense will likely argue that other findings in the autopsy explain the death and exculpates Chauvin – that Floyd did have arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, and that there was fentanyl in his system, as well as evidence of recent meth use. The defense is also expected to argue that the death happened because Floyd chewed on pills during the attempted arrest.
https://youtu.be/cgWZl7HNHmg