What happens in America if the officers in the Floyd case are convicted of lesser crimes, but not murder?
It would not be entirely surprising if Chauvin and maybe Thao were convicted of more serious crimes than the two rookies.
MODERATOR NOTE:
Let’s keep away from politicizing please. Posts deleted.
When police departments assign officers to patrols, is it common for two rookies to be paired (versus pairing a rookie with a more experienced officer)?
In the Floyd case, the first two responding officers (Lane and Keung) were two rookies. Floyd may have gotten unlucky in that the two more experienced officers who showed up later (Chavin and Thao, with Chauvin taking command of the situation upon arrival) had high rates of misconduct complaints.
“Racial Disparities in the Massachusetts Criminal System” report:
http://cjpp.law.harvard.edu/assets/Massachusetts-Racial-Disparity-Report-FINAL.pdf
An article or opinion on the report:
https://www.theroot.com/a-judge-asked-harvard-to-find-out-why-so-many-black-peo-1845017462
Now that the grand jury has cleared 2 officers and charged a 3rd with wanton endangerment charge in connected to the Breonna Taylor fatal shooting, emotions are again running very high in my “village” of family and friends (especially the young people). The lack of significant criminal charges probably means even more protests and the possibility of riots. This summer of unrest over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery reminds me of a MLK quote on the subject that still has relevance today:
“Certain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”
I was not surprised by the grand jury’s decision as the laws as I understood them were always in favor of the officers, but I hope the shooting of an innocent Black woman in her own home by the police is the last tragedy tied to Breonna Taylor’s name. Please stay safe out in the streets tonight if you are protesting.
Thank you for putting this quote up. Chicago is already getting ready. We don’t need more deaths. We need better justice.
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From our mayor.
Dear Community Member,
Today’s decision by the Kentucky Attorney General regarding charges against the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor is yet another miscarriage of justice against the Black community in our nation. Mayor Lightfoot shares in the collective outrage over this failure of the justice system.
Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. We understand that many in our community will feel compelled to express their anger and frustration over a justice system that failed to recognize this. We expect that there will be protests, and we will protect the rights of Chicagoans to peacefully protest. The key word is peacefully.
We are asking you to help encourage peaceful expression with us. Help your communities understand that the City stands in solidarity with them. We, too, seek to honor Breonna. Tonight, at 7:00 pm, please join us in a citywide moment of silence. And afterwards, SAY HER NAME. Breonna Taylor.
Be careful of armed gangs.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/09/23/patriot-coalition-far-right-chat-logs-violence/
Rush to judgement from the onset, in respect to cases like these, are fueling the fire of protests that become the conduit of violence and property damage.
Most of the recent killings of African Americas by police are significantly more complicated, in a legal sense, than the public are initially led to believe.
The verdict is now in. I am nervous and anxious about what will happen next. This verdict means enough for my circle of friends and family that everything has stopped to see the result.
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I’m happy at the just verdict, but truly shocked that it was the verdict.
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I saw 3 points of the trial that were so convincing, but I was still hesitant to say this was an “open and shut case”.
- The video tape
- Some Police officers saying that what happened on that video tape was wrong
- The testimony of the Medical expert for the prosecution.
What has surprised me is how emotional my wife got (tears) and how important this was for so many people. But my own joy that justice has prevailed is tempered by the knowledge that George Floyd’s death will most likely be a large footnote that does not end the tragedies that happen within our communities.
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The saga will continue. There were so many appealable errors in the case made by the judge.
ICYMI, the recent SNL sketch referencing the trial satirizing different PoV depending on one’s background
I hope there is no appeal. Chauvin is now a convicted murderer- strong prosecution, solid witnesses and courageous bystanders. RIP George.
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There will be many appeals. There were many unforced errors by the judge. He basically teed it up. He was convicted because the jury didn’t want to be responsible for the riots and looting and out of fear for their own safety.
What is your evidence about this in terms of the jury?
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Maxines Waters statement, the fact that cities are boarding up, bringing in the national guard bracing for riots, the pigs head/blood smeared at the former house of a defense witness. The jury wasn’t sequestered. They were aware of what was going on, how could they not be concerned for themselves, their families, friends etc… The defense asked to have the trial moved and to have the jury sequestered because of prejudice to the defendant and the judge refused. That’s grounds for an appeal right there. I’m not saying the defense will win but there will be appeals. That’s what happens in murder trials.
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I totally agree with your assessment that there will be appeals to this case. The judge not moving the trial to a different venue and not sequestering the jury at the beginning of the trial were both things that will be questioned. I also expect the defendant to get another lawyer at some point and for that lawyer to push for appeal due to an “inadequate defense” provided by his previous lawyers. I was surprised that Chauvin’s defense lawyers did not have a more “robust” defense with more medical experts, and police officers who may have defended the former officer’s techniques, mental state, or those who may have had a different take to the medical evidence at the trial. The trial was going so badly for the defendant that I thought they might put him on the stand, but that would have been very risky (but in hindsight it might have been his only shot to sway a juror or 2 for a mistrial).
But even with the overwhelming evidence provided and the convincing testimony against Chauvin, most of my Black family and friends were not convinced that justice would be served. And some of my most cynical family and friends still believe that a “technicality” or a lenient sentence is coming. It is amazing to me to see how differently the world is viewed (@skieurope, the stereotypes in the skit definitely have some truth in it), but I have been most thankful for those friends and acquaintances who do not look like me, but have spent time trying to understand why I do not have the same faith in systems that may give them some comfort.
I am curious of the thoughts of others who commented back in June 2020 about their assessment of case and what happens next (sentencing of Chauvin, and the legal issues still faced by the remaining former officers). I predict that Chauvin will be sentenced to 30-40 years and will serve half of that time in prison (in isolation). I don’t expect the other officers involved to receive jail time, but we will see.
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