Justice For George Floyd Timeline: Derek Chauvin’s Lawyers Get New Chance To Deflect Blame For Ruthless Killing
Source: Mario Tama / Getty UPDATED: 1:00 P.M. ET, Dec. 17, 2024 White privilege exists even behind bars, apparently. The former Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd with a kneeling restraint to the neck for nearly nine straight minutes has inexplicably been granted an opportunity to challenge his federal conviction by playing into a conspiracy theory that deflects blame for the ruthless killing. Lawyers for Derek Chauvin, who is currently in prison, will be allowed “to examine heart tissue and fluid samples taken from George Floyd’s autopsy for an appeal of the former Minneapolis officer’s federal civil rights conviction based on a medical theory that Chauvin did not cause Floyd’s death,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson issued the ruling on Monday. Chauvin’s lawyers have maintained that Floyd, who was handcuffed at the time of his death, died from a pre-existing heart condition and not steady pressure from Chauvin’s knee on his neck. They claim that Chauvin’s previous lawyer, Eric Nelson, never properly explored the possibility of Floyd having a heart condition. More from the Star Tribune: Chauvin, who is serving state and federal prison sentences in excess of 20 years, is seeking to overturn his 2022 federal civil rights conviction over “ineffective assistance of counsel.” Chauvin is arguing that his original defense attorney, Eric Nelson, failed to inform him that a forensic pathologist based in Topeka, Kan., told Nelson he did not think Chauvin caused Floyd’s death. Chauvin added that Nelson failed to seek testing of heart tissue samples that Dr. William Schaetzel believed would show evidence of a heart condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy. “Given the significant nature of the criminal case that Mr. Chauvin was convicted of, and given that the discovery that Mr. Chauvin seeks could support Dr. Schaetzel’s opinion of how Mr. Floyd died, the Court finds that there is good cause to allow Mr. Chauvin to take the discovery that he seeks,” Magnuson wrote in Monday’s order. Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty UPDATED: 9:30 a.m. ET, May 24, 2024 Policing Changes ‘Will Never Be Enough,’ Uncle Says George Floyd‘s uncle has spoken out ahead of the fourth anniversary of his nephew being murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. Selwyn Jones, co-founder of the Hope929 Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to honor Floyd by helping marginalized communities along the civil rights front, recently reflected on what the past four years have been like since his nephew was brutally killed. “There has been change but it will never be enough as long as innocent people of all colors and races continue to die at the hands of police and from gun violence,” Jones said in a statement sent to NewsOne this week. George Floyd’s uncle Selwyn Jones pictured on June 29, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Source: KEREM YUCEL / Getty Jones spoke out during the same week when longtime Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee announced intentions to reintroduce the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, a sweeping criminal justice reform bill that has languished in Congress after Senate Republicans repeatedly filibustered it into legislative limbo. My sincerest thanks to the family of George Floyd, family members of other victims of police violence, my fellow members of Congress, representatives of advocacy organizations, and others who came out today for the reintroduction of the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicingAct of 2024. pic.twitter.com/9CyWLh8wlD — Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) May 24, 2024 The George Floyd Justice In Policing Act ambitiously aims to end police brutality, hold police accountable, improve transparency in policing and create meaningful, structural change when it comes to how law enforcement does their jobs. Witness who tried to stop Floyd’s murder wins $150K settlement An eyewitness who tried to help prevent George Floyd’s murder has settled a lawsuit with the city of Minneapolis after police assaulted him during the 2020 incident. On April 26, the Minneapolis City Council agreed to pay Donald Williams a $150,000 settlement, approving the money without much discussion, according to AP. Williams, who sued the city last year, alleged his encounter with police caused post-traumatic stress disorder. In his lawsuit, the mixed martial arts fighter claimed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin used a chemical spray on him and other bystanders concerned for George Floyd. Williams stated in the lawsuit that he feared for his safety and also endured pain throughout the incident. Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty Williams also testified against Chauvin during his murder trial and described the chokehold the former officer used on Floyd as what MMA fighters call a “blood choke.” Donald Williams, who witnessed George Floyd’s death, said he made a 911 call “because I believe I witnessed a murder.” pic.twitter.com/TgkQbxpfwZ — Jaylin aka Mr.President (@JaylinJSD) March 30, 2021 Williams also testified against Chauvin during his murder trial and described the chokehold the former officer used on Floyd as what MMA fighters call a “blood choke.” As the wheels of justice have spun slowly but surely, 2024 is the first time the anniversary of the brazen police killing has come and all of the officers involved have been fully held accountable for their roles on May 25, 2020. Keep reading to find a complete and detailed timeline of the ongoing quest to bring justice for George Floyd. Source: Mario Tama / Getty The fallout continues Chauvin and the three officers who failed to intervene in the murder of Floyd — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao — were all behind bars and expected to stay there for years to come following their convictions in federal and state courts. Chauvin continues to file desperate motions requesting a new trial, but thus far those efforts have been unsuccessful as he serves a sentence of more than 20 years in prison. Last summer, Thao and Kueng rejected their plea deals from the state and decided to stand trial instead. They both were also convicted on federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Thao was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison and Kueng was