“Agent Chauvin is guilty of murder” – time.news

by time news

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WASHINGTON – Guilty. Three times guilty. Policeman Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. The jury decided quickly, after only ten hours of discussion and without asking the Minneapolis court for clarification. Now it’s up to Judge Peter Cahill to fix the size of the sentences within six to eight weeks.

Three charges had been made against Chauvin. Guilty in all three cases: manslaughter, but with the assumption of an assault or assault against the person, without taking into account the possible consequences; homicide due to dangerous and negligent conduct; manslaughter caused by unreasonably risky behavior. The basic punishments range from 10 to 15 years of imprisonment for the first two charges; five years for the third. Only with aggravating circumstances, for example murder committed in front of underage witnesses, it will be possible to reach up to 40 years in prison. It is a historic sentence for America. This is the sentence expected by a large part of the country. Starting with Joe Biden, who yesterday broke the silence before the news came: I pray for the verdict to be the right one. For me the evidence is overwhelming. I say this only now because the jury is in retreat. The president then spoke again in the evening, with a televised speech in which he invited the country now to remain united. We are relieved, said Biden, who also spoke to George Floyd’s family on the phone. Ben Crump, the victim’s family lawyer, posted a video of the call on Twitter. There is nothing that can make things better, the president said when commenting on the death of their relative, but at least there is justice. The sentence is a giant step in the fight against racism, Biden added.

The twelve jurors, six white, four African American, two of other ethnicity, five men and seven women, had been locked in the Council Chamber since Monday evening. They retraced the evidence and above all the videos of an unpublished trial, built on the images taken by the body cameras of the agents, by the security cameras and by the cell phones of the witnesses. The Prosecutor’s Office once again showed the sequence that outraged the world: Chauvin pressing his knee on George’s neck, handcuffed and immobilized, belly to the ground.Nine minutes and 29 seconds, on that evening of May 25, 2020. These are the frames that last year raised a wave of protests in many cities in the United States, led by the Black Lives Matter movement. The witnesses summoned to the courtroom commented with anguish, often crying, on that scene. Among them a nine-year-old girl: very sad.

In front of the court, a crowd of people welcomed the sentence with relief, with songs of joy. Inside, in the dock, Derek Chauvin heard the conviction verdict and was immediately taken to prison. An isolated man: none of his former colleagues defended him. Indeed, among the decisive depositions there is certainly that of the head of the Medaria Police Arradondo, also an African American. He was the one who declared that that practice, that knee, that grin, that hand in his pocket, are not part of the rules of the Minneapolis police; it was an initiative, an improvisation by Chauvin. Attorney Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, never had great margins. He tried to sow doubts, to dismantle the reconstruction of the facts. But crashed into the insurmountable force of images. Against the medical report evidence: George died of asphyxiation, not opioid overdose. Now the tension will dissolve in Minneapolis, the Minnesota city in the balance for days, with the National Guard deployed in force, with the police districts protected by high fences. The alarm should also be reset in other cities, in particular in Chicago and Washington DC. And the word will now pass to politics, to the United States Congress, where the House has already passed a law to reform the police, with national standards for training and the use of force.

Accuses him

Paid by Chauvin three charges have been made. Let’s try to transpose them into our criminal cases with an inevitable margin of approximation:

• manslaughter, but with the assumption of an assault or assault against the person, without taking into account the possible consequences;

• homicide due to dangerous and negligent conduct;

Pre-Intentional Murder, caused by unreasonably risky behavior.

It is up to Judge Peter Cahill to fix the extent of the sentences, which cannot be combined in the event of simultaneous conviction for all three offenses. In this case it comes the highest penalty is imposed. The basic punishments range from 10 to 15 years of imprisonment for the first two charges; and five years for the third. Only with aggravating circumstances, for example murder committed in front of underage witnesses, will it be possible to reach up to 40 years in prison.

The 2.0 process

It was an unprecedented trial, 2.0, built on the images shot by the body cameras supplied to the agents, by the cell phones of the witnesses, by the security cameras. A live, raw and dramatic story from the outskirts of Minneapolis, in Minnesota. A familiar place, because it is similar to the marginal neighborhoods of many American metropolises. The first sequences show us a glimpse of Floyd’s daily life. We see him entering the Cup Food emporium, today transformed into a memorial and a meeting point for activists. Tall, massive, in a black tank top. He mumbles something, jokes with the customers. Eventually he buys the cigarettes with fake $ 20. The post-mortem report will reveal that he was under the influence of opioids. A man struggling with addiction for a long time, as Courtney Ross, the woman who dated him in 2017, said.

Everything seems calm that spring evening. George returns to his car, where an acquaintance awaits him who will be quickly checked and then released by the patrol of agents. Here is the clip recorded from the body camera of Thomas Lane, one of the first agents to come into contact with Floyd. The policeman approaches. Stakes on the glass, immediately asks George to get out. Then he takes out his gun and points it at the man still standing in the car: Don’t shoot me, I’m a good person, tell my kids I love them, George yells, frightened and visibly confused. a concrete example of the so-called structural racism: law enforcement officers a priori distrust African-American males. They fear that they are armed, that they are part of a gang of traffickers and so on. Norms and training should serve to distinguish. In another video, the same agent puts the gun back in its holster and yells at Floyd: Put your fucking hands on the wheel. Not: Please sir, put your hands on the wheel, as per the rules of engagement.

Chauvin’s knee

Enter Derek Chauvin, 46, serving in the Minneapolis Police Department for 19. When he arrives, three other colleagues are already trying to load the arrested man into the police car. George handcuffed, protests, does not want to get in the back seat. The scene is being prepared that the whole world has seen dozens and dozens of times. It is the frames that last year they outraged America, raised a wave of protests across the United States, led by the Black Lives Matter movement. The witnesses commented with anguish, often crying, on the scene that we have now seen hundreds of times. That evening, on that sidewalk, there is also a 17-year-old girl who records everything with her mobile phone. Next to her, her cousin, a 9-year-old girl: sad, she tells the jurors.

The word of the boss

Among the decisive depositions is that of Medaria Arradondo, chief of police of Minneapolis, also an African American. Declares that that practice, that is that knee, that grin, that hand in his pocket, are not part of the Minneapolis police rules; it was an initiative, an improvisation by Chauvin. Other Minneapolis Department officials, whether or not they were convinced, confirm Arradondo’s line. Attorney Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, doesn’t seem to have much edge. Try to sow doubts, to dismantle the reconstruction of the facts. He claims that the agent acted reasonably and following procedures. Try to prove that Floyd did not die as a direct result of that pressure, of that knee. The doctors’ version, however, is different: George died of asphyxiation, not an opioid overdose.

Waiting and politics

The twelve jurors were gathered Monday, April 19 at a Minneapolis hotel. On the last day they filled up with recommendations. Judge on what you’ve seen with your own eyes, DA Steve Schleider said, closing the indictment. Consider all the facts, not a single perspective, replied attorney Nelson, Activists from Africa and beyond have been mobilizing for days. The National Guard deployed in Minneapolis. State of alert also in some cities already marked by demonstrations and some clashes with the police. In particular Chicago, Portland and Washington. The tension had already risen to its maximum with the killing of another African American, Duante Wright, in a suburb of Minneapolis, and with the case of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, shot to death by a policeman in Chicago.

The leaders of Black Lives Matter have made a pact with Arradondo himself. On the one hand, there is a commitment to isolate vandals and looters. On the other a supervise the demonstrations without abusing the public force. Facebook managers have made it known that they will delete posts that incite violence. Politics is also on the move. The Conservative front has harshly attacked the African-American Democratic MP Marine Waters who, over the weekend, had called on activists not to leave the square, to be more confrontational in the event of an unjust sentence. The White House observes, for now in silence. But Joe Biden is considering whether to give a speech to the Nation.

April 20, 2021 (change April 21, 2021 | 01:30)

© Time.News

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