In a notable development, the US Supreme Court declined to review former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s state convictions for the murder of George Floyd. For those unaware, Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd in 2020, an incident that sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and rekindled the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on his state convictions, and on a federal civil rights conviction, he received another 21 years, which was later reduced to 20 years and 5 months. The denial of certiorari by the Supreme Court comes after the Minnesota Supreme Court also declined Chauvin’s appeal, maintaining the guilty verdict.
In his appeal, Chauvin contested the Minnesota trial court’s denial of his request for a change in venue. As per William Mohrman, Chauvin’s attorney, due to the publicity generated by Floyd’s death, Chauvin was refused a change of venue in the context of violent and destructive riots and potential community harm if a guilty verdict wasn’t reached. Chauvin also wanted the court to review a lower court’s decision against holding a hearing to consider evidence of juror bias after the verdict.
The former police officer was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in May 2020. This conviction stemmed from a video-captured incident that depicted Floyd exclaiming “I can’t breathe” while Chauvin held his knee on his neck for over nine minutes. Since sentencing, Chauvin has repeatedly appealed his convictions and even sought a new trial or a reversion of his state conviction in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, but these attempts have been consistently denied.
Most recently, Chauvin submitted a motion in federal court to vacate his federal conviction. Corresponding with Dr. William Schaetzel, a Kansas Pathologist, Chauvin asserts that he wouldn’t have pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights, since Schaetzel argued that the former officer did not cause Floyd’s death. For the full details, refer to this report.