Derek Chauvin, the former police officer responsible for the death of George Floyd was stabbed in a US prison in the state of Arizona. Derek Chauvin is serving multiple sentences for the death of George Floyd, a black man whose death sparked massive protests against police brutality and racism. According to a statement from the US Bureau of Prisons, an inmate at the federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, was stabbed on Friday.
According to the prisoner, they stated they prevented any further incident, took “life-saving measures,” and then transferred him to the hospital.
Nobody provided the prisoner’s name. According to them, no one else got injured, and Chauvin survived the attack.
The incident came days after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, which argued that he did not receive a fair trial in Floyd’s murder.
Floyd died in 2020 after Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes.
The killing, caught on a bystander’s phone camera, sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force.
Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd and sentenced to 22 years in prison, only to be convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Derek Chauvin, a 45-year-old police officer, was found guilty on all counts in the May 2020 killing of unarmed African-American George Floyd.
Footage of Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck as he lay helpless on the ground and shouting, “I can’t breathe!” stirred up America and sparked a wave of months-long protests in 2020.
Chauvin was found guilty of three counts: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. They immediately revoked his bail and sent him to custody. The verdict is likely to be handed down in two months, and the former police officer could face decades in prison.
A jury of 12 took less than a day to reach its verdict after a three-week trial. Several hundred people celebrated outside the court when they heard the jury’s decision.
Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Floyd family, said the decision marked a “turning point in US history.” “Painfully deserved justice has finally arrived,” he wrote on Twitter.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Floyd’s family immediately after the verdict.
Biden said that “at least there is some justice.” “We will do a lot more.” This is the first confrontation with true systemic racism,” the US president added.
Not long after, Biden also spoke on national television. “Systemic racism is a stain on the soul of the entire nation.”
Harris urged lawmakers to pass the George Floyd Act, which would reform policing in the US. This law is part of George Floyd’s legacy.”This should have been done a long time ago,” she said. The non-profit organization that represents the police in Minneapolis thanked the jury for their dedicated work.
“We also want to reach out to the community and express our deep regret for their suffering, which we feel every day.” There are no winners in this case, and we respect the jury’s decision,” the organization said in a statement.
Chauvin is expected to appeal the verdict, according to American media. The defense says that the great publicity the case received could have influenced the jury’s decision. How the trial went: what did the defense say, and what did the prosecution say?
The prosecution urged the jurors “to use common sense.”
“Trust your eyes,” said prosecutor Steve Schleiker, referring to a video showing Chauvin kneeling on top of Floyd for over nine minutes on May 25th of last year.
“This was not the police; this was murder,” he added.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, argued that his client acted as any “reasonable police officer” would do if he were in a “dynamic” and “fluid” situation where a large group of men were confronting three officers. He insisted Floyd was under the influence of drugs, explaining that the body reacts to the use of opioids, especially with a person with high blood pressure. The lawyer also argued that it is unlikely that his client deliberately violated the rules on the use of force, as he knew that everything was being recorded.
The jury also heard statements from 45 witnesses, including doctors, use-of-force experts, police officers, bystanders, and people close to Floyd. Of the 12 jurors, six are white, four are black, and two are of mixed race. Seven are women, and five are men.
Five events that marked the trial Derek Chauvin-George Floyd
1. Effect of arrest on witnesses
Some of the most memorable testimony was heard during the first days of the trial. Darnella, 17 at the time of Floyd’s death, recorded a video that went viral around the world. She told the jury that there were nights when she could not sleep, “apologising to George Floyd for not doing more and not reacting to save his life.” “When I look at George Floyd, it’s like I’m looking at my father.” I look at brothers, cousins, and uncles. Because they are all black,” she said.
2. The girl’s emotional testimony
Courtney Ross, who was Floyd’s partner for three years, described their first meeting at the Salvation Army homeless shelter where Floyd worked. She recounted how his mother’s death in 2018 devastated him. Ross also told the court that they both suffered from chronic pain, which led to an ongoing battle with opioid addiction.
45 people testified at the trial.
3. Whether they justified the force
A key question during the trial was whether Derek Chauvin violated the policy of restraint when he pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck and held him like that for nine and a half minutes.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, one of the prosecution’s most prominent witnesses, fired Chauvin the day after his arrest. He told the court that the officer should have stopped using “that level of force” the moment Floyd was no longer resisting. “It’s not part of our training, our ethics, and our values,” said Arradondo, the first black police chief.
4. Cause of death
The prosecution claims that Floyd died from suffocation, while the defense pointed to drug use and general poor health. Dr. Martin Tobin explained how Floyd rose harder and harder for nine and a half minutes while Chauvin kept him pinned to the ground with his knee.
Even a “healthy person subjected to what Floyd was would die,” he said. A key defense witness, forensic pathologist David Fowler, said Floyd’s death should have been classified as “undetermined” rather than homicide because there were “so many mechanisms.”
However, during cross-examination, he agreed that Floyd should have been given immediate medical attention because there was still a chance that his life could be saved.
5. Fifth Amendment
Just before the defense closed its case, the man on trial, Derek Chauvin, confirmed he would not testify.
“I will invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege today,” the constitutional right not to testify against the possibility of self-incrimination, Derek Chauvin said. When asked by the judge if it was just his decision or someone influenced him, Chauvin replied: “No promises or threats, Your Honor.”
