George Floyd was injured from the police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis (Minnesota) so severely that he died a little later in a hospital of his injuries. Chauvin has been sitting for the last Saturday in detention. The facts seem clear, since the whole act was documented on Video, there were many witnesses. However, as the proceedings against Chavin is done now, what punishment threatens him?
What exactly are the allegations against Chauvin are?
The police officer Derek Chauvin (44) had pushed Floyd to a knee more than eight minutes against the neck, such as a video of the pictures prove. The policeman has not subsided, even though Floyd could tell that he gets no more air. Chauvin was arrested five days after the brutal police action. The investigators accuse Chauvin yet murder without intent (“Third degree murder”) as well as manslaughter.
The American justice system distinguishes between different versions of the murder charge. “First degree murder” means murder with malice, “second degree murder” corresponds Essentially to manslaughter, the intent is missing. “Third degree murder” only in the U.S. States, Minneapolis, Florida, and Pennsylvania; and in Minnesota he referred to the so-called “depraved – indifference murder” – i.e., murder without intent, but with an indifference to the life.
What evidence is there for this?
The most important evidence are the statements of numerous eyewitnesses, and the video images that show the extremely brutal and minutes-long procedure of Chauvin against Floyd.
in Addition, there are several opinions:
In one of the family, Floyd’s envoy autopsy, the auditor came to the conclusion that “asphyxiation due to sustained pressure” had led to the death. Due to the pressure on Floyd’s neck, the blood supply had been interrupted to the brain, while the pressure on the back have prevented Breathing.
This is the official autopsy, which established that the victim by applying pressure to the neck of a circulatory standstill died speaks. In addition, a poisoning had been found for an alleged taking of Methampetaminen. In addition, Floyd and heart and blood pressure pre – existing conditions suffered, which have both contributed to the death. Floyd’s family denies the pre-existing conditions.
What is the penalty to the police officer?
For second-degree murder the Maximum penalty in Minnesota for 25 years. In most cases, the convictions do not go beyond this allegation, according to lawyers in the US media, however, over five years.
What are the challenges for the judiciary?
U.S. Department of justice, experts predict that the state will be facing lawyers in the Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis, where the case is heard, with a whole series of legal obstacles that could make it difficult for a conviction of Chauvin.
Paul Butler, Ex-U.S. attorney and a Professor at the prestigious Georgetown University in Washington, points out in the “Washington Post” on the fundamental difficulty in the case of convictions of police officers in the United States. Butler, himself African-American, speaks of a “blue wall of silence”, the prosecutors made in the USA in the workup of criminal offences by police officers again and again (in allusion to the blue uniforms of the police officers). The cooperation of police officers who are witnesses in such cases, often the Main, was usually “uncooperative to hostile,” says Butler. This is true even for the Jury to decide, ultimately, about the guilty verdict. “Even if the jurors are convinced that a Crime has been committed, to condemn the accused, often reluctantly, because they think that it is unfair to condemn a police officer, the errors committed, as he tried to do his Job.”
Although there is currently a lot of critical voices, which the two formulated charges “inadequate” appeared. added Butler, who is himself African-American. This is “quite understandable”. But the lawyer leaves no doubt that the previously-mentioned charge might be from his point of view quite in accordance with applicable U.S. law.
what’s the plan now – and when the process is expected?
The CNN expert Elie honey is due to the “high legal hurdles” that the formulation of the relatively restrained charges would “take several months”. It is unclear at present, as the Public protests, at least the timing of the indictment could affect. A temporal prediction therefore seems to be in the moment is hardly possible.
How did the U.S. Department of justice, in similar cases with police officers?
Of the approximately 100 police officials who were indicted in the United States since 2005 for murder, had been spoken the most and only 35 sentenced, the judicial expert. Most of them were, however, not for murder, but withdrawn due to the negligent killing of accountability has been. In the case of civilians, the condemnation rate of spent time for murder, however, at 90 percent.
A notorious example is the process against police officers who had beaten in 1991 in Los Angeles, the African-American Rodney King to death. After the officials were spoken a year later, it arrived in Los Angeles to serious riots, in which 53 people died.
the Video proves that Peaceful demonstrators will suddenly prove of police officers with the pepper spray, FOCUS Online/Wochit Video: Peaceful protester is suddenly of police officers with pepper spray
