Closing arguments in trial
“Believe your eyes,” a prosecutor told jurors as Derek Chauvin’s trial wound down
MINNEAPOLIS — The murder case against former officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury Monday in a city on edge against another round of unrest.
The jury of six white members and six Black or multiracial ones was sent off to begin deliberating after nearly a full day of closing arguments in which prosecutors argued that Chauvin squeezed the life out Floyd last May in a way that even a child knew was wrong.
The defense contended that the now-fired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use.
After closing arguments were done, Judge Peter Cahill rejected a defense request for a mistrial based in part on comments California Rep. Maxine Waters that protesters could get more confrontational if there is no guilty verdict.
The judge told Chauvin’s attorney: “Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.” He added: “I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch.”
Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All three charges require the jury to conclude that Chauvin’s actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death and that his use of force was unreasonable.
The most serious charge carries up to 40 years in prison.
“Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher said in closing arguments.
Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing that Chauvin did what any “reasonable” police officer would have done after finding himself in a “dynamic” and “fluid” situation involving a large man struggling with three officers.
The dueling arguments got underway with some stores boarded up with plywood in Minneapolis, the courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire, and National Guard members on patrol.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had the final word, offering the state’s rebuttal argument.
The prosecutor, who is Black, said that the questions about the use of force and cause of death are “so simple that a child can understand it.”
“In fact, a child did understand it, when the 9-year-old girl said, ‘Get off of him,’ ” Blackwell said, referring to a young witness who objected to what she saw. “That’s how simple it was. ‘Get off of him.’ Common sense.”