Monday, April 19, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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As an attorney, I can assure you that the defense of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd should not succeed.
The defense that Floyd would have died regardless of Chauvin’s actions really makes no legal sense, but Chauvin’s attorneys had to try anyway. Chauvin basically conducted a lynching by resting his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes, and now his attorneys claim that Floyd did not die because of the lynching.
What has not been explained is the nine and a half minutes. What was Chauvin waiting for? Floyd was handcuffed and there were at least three other officers around, so the delay was not for control.
Another defense problem is a legal doctrine which basically says that you take the victim of a killing as he is. In other words, a punch that kills a 90-year-old man is murder even if the same punch would not hurt a 20-year-old. If Floyd’s medical condition was as bad as the defense claims, then he is the equivalent of being the 90-year-old. And if Chauvin claims he knew about the drug use, he should have been more careful with Floyd, rather than using more force.
The only way Chauvin can win is the doctrine that police can do no wrong.
