Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin Appeals His Murder Conviction In George Floyd’s Death
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of killing George Floyd, filed an appeal late Thursday (Sept. 23).
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that his legal team filed the documents with the Minnesota Court of Appeals on the last day that he was eligible to appeal his conviction--90 days after his June 25 sentencing.
The disgraced officer accused the state of "prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct," as well as pointing to several issues he had with the jury. In all, he raised 14 concerns in his court filing about the way he was prosecuted. He also outlines several issues he had with the jury, according to the Star Tribune.
He accused the court of abusing its discretion when denying his motion for a change of venue, denied his request to sequester the jury, denied a new trial for him based on what he called “juror misconduct” and also accuses the court of not allowing biased jurors from the jury.
Chauvin stood trial in a Minneapolis courtroom in a high profile case that garnered international attention and was the focal point of racial tensions over the death of Black people at the hands of police and vigilantes. After the April 20 conviction, Floyd’s family expressed relief that Chauvin would be held accountable for his May 2020 death, in which the officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, all captured on cellphone video.
“A lot of days I prayed and I was speaking things into existence,” said Philonise Floyd at a press conference after the conviction. “I had faith that [Chauvin] would be convicted.”
Chauvin was sentenced to 22 ½ years in prison after being found guilty on all counts of murder and manslaughter. He and the other officers accused in Floyd’s case are also set to stand trial in a federal civil rights case. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
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