Today, my thoughts and prayers are with Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is caught up in a Kafkaesque nightmare – a political prosecution with the full weight of radical un-American progressive socialist Democrats with their collective foot on Chauvin’s neck.

The situation can be expertly summed up by cartoonist Antonio Branco…

There is literally no way that Derek Chauvin can get a fair trial on the legal merits of the case for the in-custody death of George Floyd…

Reason one: biased mainstream media coverage starting on the first day of the death of George Floyd and continuing up to jury sequestration. The mainstream’s coverage was biased toward the prosecution’s shifting case and appeared to deliberately ignore defense questioning and testimony, thus raising expectations that the prosecution’s case was absolutely true as stated

Reason two: prejudicial statements of government officials, including California Representative Maxine Waters, who urged a crowd to continue protesting if Chauvin was not convicted of first-degree murder, a charge not even the State of Minnesota believed was warranted.

Reason three: jury intimidation by the wide coverage of the protests and civil insurrection, including rioting, looting, and arson, and the threat of more of the same if the jury fails to convict.

Reason four: the prosecution continually shifted the theory of their case after it was conclusively proven that Chauvin’s knee was not on Floyd’s neck, there were no chokeholds, and there were no physical signs of asphyxia, with Floyd dying from a multiplicity of factors including partially-blocked arteries, a fatal level of Fentynl ingested just prior to the arrest, and other underlying medical conditions. Floyd appears to be literally, a dead man walking.

Reason five:  while the Judge appears nice enough in court, he has made several questionable calls.

Refusal to allow a trial delay.

Refusal to allow a change of venue.

Refusal to allow for jury sequestration. The jury was exposed to mob actions and the damage done to the city on their daily commute. 

Allowed witness stacking when witnesses added little or nothing, other than emotion, to the proceedings.

Failed to sanction the prosecution for dumping thousands of pages of discovery on the defense during the trial, impairing the defense’s ability to read, comprehend, and respond to the proffered material.

Allowed expert testimony from an unvetted "self-proclaimed ‘expert’ on martial arts who was abjectly wrong on the matter of chokeholds.

Ignored prosecutorial misconduct in the prosecution closing rebuttal where the prosecutor, having been warned,  continued to disparage the defense in a manner that could lead to a mistrial.

This is judicial terrorism…

There is no doubt that we are experiencing judicial terrorism under the progressive socialist democrats and the mainstream media. Justice not defined by the legal process based on the merits of the case but by an outcome demanded by the mob – including government officials.

Select members of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and California Representative Maxine Waters should be held accountable for their actions.

Bottom line…

Justice demands that, in the absence of clear and conclusive evidence Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin negligently caused the death of George Floyd, the case be dismissed with prejudice as Chauvin cannot get a fair trial anywhere in the United States accessible to the progressive socialist democrats and the mainstream media. '

However, it is unlikely that the matter will be laid to rest. Look for the Biden Administration and a corrupt hyper-politicized Department of Justice to bring a civil rights case as they pander to their base.

I fear that the jury will convict Chauvin, believing that the Appellate Court will correct any wrongs. If this is true, they are all cowards and unworthy to call themselves Americans.

We are so screwed, but not as much as Officer Chauvin, who left home that morning with no idea that the progressive socialist democrats would rain down hell upon his head for merely doing his job.

-- steve