Derek Chauvin Appeals George Floyd Murder Conviction
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Derek Chauvin Appeals George Floyd Murder ConvictionDarnella Frazier/FacebookDerek Chauvin, the white police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd last year, says he will appeal his criminal conviction.
Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes.
He was sentenced in June 2021 to 22-and-a-half years in prison.
Judge Peter Cahill had exceeded the 12-and-a-half-year prison term recommended by state guidelines, arguing that his ‘abuse of a position of trust and authority and also the particular cruelty’.
From his sentencing date, Chauvin had 90 days to appeal. In documents filed on Thursday, Chauvin said he intends to appeal on 14 grounds.
Chauvin cited the trial judge’s abuse of his discretion and the denial to postpone his hearing due to pre-trial press influence, as reasons for his appeal.
Chauvin’s defence attorney also raised his grounds for appeal as the case went through District Court and argued that juror Brandon Mitchell was not honest in his role as he failed to disclose his political affiliations.
Currently, Chauvin does not have legal representation for the appeal process, writing that he had been informed that the Minnesota Police Department’s ‘obligation to pay for my representation terminated upon my conviction and sentencing’.
This was not Chauvin’s first offence of this nature. In September 2017, Hennepin County prosecutors in Minneapolis alleged that Chauvin ‘kneeling on a Black teen’s’ neck.
The appeal is expected to garner widespread media attention. The case sparked widespread outrage and protests against police brutality across the world, with black community organisations like Black Lives Matter, at the forefront of the movement.
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