Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.
The system has taken away this man's money, life, freedom, and health after being stabbed 22 times in prison.

The former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021 in connection with the in-custody death of George Floyd.

But was Derek Chauvin genuinely guilty of murder? Or was the conviction influenced by political pressure and a public outcry, distorting justice in the process?

In Chauvin’s case, the pressure of the national spotlight overshadowed the legal process. The prosecution’s approach was undeniably influenced by the goal of securing a conviction that would satisfy widespread and violent calls for accountability rather than solely focusing on the evidence.

This political atmosphere created an urgency to deliver a conviction, clouding the decision-making process. There was too much focus on appeasing public demand for justice, driven by political agendas, rather than on the clear and objective application of legal principles. In any criminal case involving such heightened emotion, the delicate balance between public sentiment and legal fairness was breached.

Judicial Misconduct.

Judicial misconduct was evident, particularly in handling pretrial publicity, requests for a change of venue, jury sequestration, and other decisions made regarding the presentation of evidence. The Judge ignored that the City of Minneapolis prematurely settled the civil aspects of the case with a multi-million dollar settlement to Floyd’s estate, further reinforcing the perception of Chauvin’s guilt.

Prosecutorial Misconduct.

The prosecutors pushed beyond the evidentiary boundaries to overemphasize certain aspects of the case to strengthen their narrative and create a false impression that was unacceptably prejudicial to Chauvin, in part with the Judge’s rulings, which were not recorded and made part of the record.

The Evidence: A Matter of Manipulation?

Experts testified that George Floyd’s cause of death was complicated, with factors such as significant pre-existing health conditions, the immediate ingestion of a lethal amount of fentanyl, a prolonged struggle while resisting arrest, and objective evidence that did not match the narrative explaining Floyd’s death.

Significant issues were insufficiently addressed during the trial, making the case appear to hinge too heavily on the emotional weight of the video shot from a sub-optimal angle that distorted the arrest action.

A Scared and Panicked Jury.

Jurors were not isolated from the media and protests. Jurors were driven daily through the damaged riot area and ongoing protest and who were threatened with public backlash, additional unrest, and even personal harm. All of which clouded their ability to make an independent, unbiased decision based purely on the evidence.

Chauvin’s guilt was presumed before the trial even began.

The trial became a political theater stage, where the true nature of justice and the law seemed to take a backseat to the greater societal movements. This shift from legal procedure to political symbolism skewed the conviction, as the case became about achieving social outcomes rather than determining culpability based on the law.

Minnesota Fails.

The Minnesota State Supreme Court neglected its duty to review the Chauvin matter in light of prosecutorial misconduct, a biased judge, a false media narrative, and general circumstances that led to a lynch mob rather than a reasoned resolution of the case.

Bottom line…

Community activists effectively lynched Chauvin, along with the assistance of a corrupt headline-seeking media, a city looking for a fast conviction, and a manifestly incompetent judge.

Is it any wonder that good and decent men and women are avoiding law enforcement as a profession – where the media and politicians can politicize a split-second mistake into a life-altering event that can see a decent officer jailed, bankrupted, and their family destroyed?

It is time for Derek Chauvin to receive a pardon or, at the very least, a new trial for Chauvin to be ordered. However, considering the inappropriate elevation of thug George Floyd, a drug-addled felon, to an iconic civil rights hero by the media, extensive political issues must be overcome.

We are so screwed.

-- Steve