‘Believe your eyes’ advice to Floyd jury
MINNEAPOLIS: Jurors in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin began deliberations yesterday after a prosecutor implored them to ‘‘believe your eyes’’ as he replayed video of the former Minneapolis policeman kneeling on a dying George Floyd’s neck.
Chauvin’s lead lawyer Eric Nelson in his closing argument said Chauvin behaved as any ‘‘reasonable police officer’’ would, following his training from 19 years on the force.
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher repeated the phrase ‘‘nine minutes and 29 seconds’’ — the length of time Chauvin was captured on video with his knee on Floyd’s neck on May 25, 2020.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill gave the jury final instructions before it left the courtroom to begin deliberations.
Jurors adjourned after four hours and were sequestered in a hotel. Deliberations resume today.
Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd, a 46yearold handcuffed black man, outside the grocery store where Floyd had been accused of using a fake $20 note. Bystanders filmed and screamed at Chauvin to get off and check Floyd’s pulse.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to seconddegree unintentional murder, thirddegree ‘‘depraved mind’’ murder and seconddegree manslaughter.
Nelson said prosecutors were wrong to dismiss the defence theory that carbon monoxide poisoning from the nearby police car’s exhaust and Floyd’s use of the opioid fentanyl may have contributed to Floyd’s death.
He repeated that Chauvin behaved as a ‘‘reasonable police officer’’ would with a man as ‘‘large’’ as Floyd, who was struggling against being put in a police car when Chauvin arrived.
The extensive video of Floyd’s death from multiple angles is the heart of the prosecution’s case.
‘‘You can believe your eyes,’’ prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said.
‘‘It was what you saw. It was homicide.’’
He said the video showed Chauvin using unreasonable, and therefore illegal, force in compressing Floyd’s torso against the road.
The defence used the same videos to try to prove the opposite point; the fact Chauvin continued kneeling on Floyd even as he knew he was being filmed was evidence he believed he was responding reasonably, Nelson said.
For the seconddegree murder charge, the jury will have to agree that prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin committed a felony, in this case assault, that was a substantial cause in Floyd’s death. They do not have to find that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd.
That crime carries a punishment of up to 40 years in prison.
Chauvin needs to persuade only one juror to acquit, which would create a hung jury, although prosecutors in that situation could try him again. — Reuters