The Derek Chauvin/George Floyd Case
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Derek Chauvin, one of several police officers involved, knelt on Floyd's neck 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Chauvin was subsequently fired from the police force and is now on trial for murder. Opening statements in the case began two weeks ago, March 29.
For followers of justice issues such as myself this case is interesting for the change it represents. Police misconduct (that's a mild term for what happened here) has routinely been swept underneath the carpet. Will this case result in the conviction of a (former) police officer for a murder charge?
Now, you may have seen the skit on Saturday Night, Live last weekend that satirized this question. The episode's cold open featured a fictional TV news show discussing the court case in which two White journalists said (paraphrased), "This time it's different" while two Black journalists retorted, "Haha, no, and it's foolish to think that."
I enjoy humor, too, but right now I'm looking at the serious side of this case. On the serious side, there really are major changes happening. Will the case result in the conviction of Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd? I can't promise you it will; that's in the hands of the jury. But even if it doesn't, major changes in favor of justice have already happened. (And BTW I do expect Chauvin to be convicted on the strength of the evidence presented.)
More to come on this topic....
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/48662.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
For followers of justice issues such as myself this case is interesting for the change it represents. Police misconduct (that's a mild term for what happened here) has routinely been swept underneath the carpet. Will this case result in the conviction of a (former) police officer for a murder charge?
Now, you may have seen the skit on Saturday Night, Live last weekend that satirized this question. The episode's cold open featured a fictional TV news show discussing the court case in which two White journalists said (paraphrased), "This time it's different" while two Black journalists retorted, "Haha, no, and it's foolish to think that."
Click to viewI enjoy humor, too, but right now I'm looking at the serious side of this case. On the serious side, there really are major changes happening. Will the case result in the conviction of Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd? I can't promise you it will; that's in the hands of the jury. But even if it doesn't, major changes in favor of justice have already happened. (And BTW I do expect Chauvin to be convicted on the strength of the evidence presented.)
More to come on this topic....
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/48662.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]