Well, this is not a good thing. I’d like to see the officer spend a long time in jail for what he did, along with the other officers who just stood around
Floyd family autopsy could help accused policeman’s defense, legal experts say
An independent autopsy that found George Floyd died solely from asphyxiation could actually bolster the defense of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing him, legal experts said.
The autopsy released on Monday said Floyd’s death, which sparked nationwide protests, was a homicide and that he had no underlying medical conditions.
Later on Monday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner released details of its autopsy findings that also said Floyd’s death was a homicide caused by asphyxiation but that he had possible underlying health conditions and intoxicants in his body that may have been contributing factors in his death.
On the surface, the independent autopsy would seem to bolster the prosecution’s case against Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes before he died last week.
But legal experts said it could do the opposite by creating confusion in the mind of the jury.
“It will be part of the defense strategy to say they can’t even get the cause of death right,” said Gerald Lefcourt, a criminal defense attorney.
We’ve all seen the video, I think we can all conclude George Floyd would not be dead without the actions of Chauvin, but, we have a legal system
Former prosecutors and defense attorneys told Reuters that Chauvin faced a very difficult case given the strong video evidence.
If prosecutors introduce the independent report, the defense could seize on the conflicting autopsies to create questions in the jury’s mind about the cause of death.
Under U.S. law, prosecutors must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If prosecution doesn’t, defense could. One has to wonder if the State is going to have to reduce the charges down from 3rd degree murder in order to attempt to get a conviction, which would set people off yet again. And if they fail to convict him. Gonna be tough to get a unbiased jury. There’s zero possibility of charging Chauvin with 1st degree murder at this point.
