Background Information
On May 25, 2020, a viral video of an African American man pleading for breath and his mother while a White policeman pressured the apprehended man’s neck with his knee was released on social media. According to further reports, the apprehended Black man, George Floyd, died in police custody, creating a series of events in the United States and globally ( The Washington Post, 2021) . Floyd’s death amplified the protests started against systematic oppression of the minorities by the police. Instantaneously, the Black Lives Matter campaign that had existed to protest preventable deaths like registered more members globally. People from different races in the world united and rebuked the actions of the involved officers who murdered Floyd without subjecting him a fair trial. In response, the American criminal justice system charged all the involved officers legally, with Derek Chauvin, the officer who had been recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck, receiving severe charges for his leading role in Floyd’s death.
Question One
The court had tried Derek Chauvin for second-degree unintentional murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder, and he was found guilty for all three charges. The jury said that Derek deserved the charges for kneeling on the deceased plaintiff’s neck for up to nine minutes. For the jury, Floyd did not deserve the inhumane death Chauvin subjected him to. Even the judgment was overwhelming, Floyd’s death was undeserving ( Voice of America, 2021) . The judgment against Chauvin was delivered by a jury panel of six in 2021, one year later after Floyd’s death. Therefore, Chauvin was accused of the mentioned crimes by a jury in court, as explained.
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Elements of the murder charges Chauvin was accused of include extreme recklessness, intention to injure seriously, and intention to kill. Chauvin exhibited extreme recklessness by refusing to subject Floyd to a fair trial and kneeling on his neck for more than 9 minutes, causing the deceased to lose his life unfairly. Similarly, the defendant proved that he had intention to injure seriously, propelled by previous belief of the victim being a threat or racial profiling of the victim ( Rosenfeld, 2018) . In a different case, if Floyd were White, Derrick would have treated him as mandated by law. Further, prosecution can provided evidence to prove that the perpetrator had intention to kill. When Chauvin hurt Floyd intentionally by kneeling on the deceased for a prolonged period despite his desperate plea to be allowed to breathe, he intended to kill. Therefore, Chauvin fulfilled all the elements of the murder charges he was accused of, as explained.
Question Two
Derek Chauvin defense embodied the "other causes", "hostile crowd", and “force is unattractive" theories. Under the other causes theory Chauvin argued that Floyd had a drug abuse problem and this was the primary reason for untimely death. Similarly, using the force is unattractive theory, Chauvin said that police work was hectic especially when apprehending a criminal breaking the law, hence the need to use necessary force to enforce the law ( Rosenfeld, 2018) . According to the defendant, using force is often unattractive to third parties, hence its ease to mistake for violence. Finally, under the hostile crowd theory, Chauvin argued that the on looking crowd posed a threat to the police hence diverting their attention from the victim. Floyd’s suffering would have been avoided were it not for the charging crowd whom diverted the care and attention the victim should have received.
Chauvin’s defense team would have used other defenses including, such as pleading insanity, saying the case was weak and unreliable and arguing that the defendant acted in self-defense. The defendant may have argued that at the time of the murder he had a mental illness, which impaired his judgment. Alternatively, Chauvin’s lawyer may have argued that the prosecution case was weak and unreliable, by saying that it could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was the perpetrator of Floyd’s murder. Finally, Chauvin’s defense may have said the accused acted in self-defense, which is typically used by murder suspects when they try to prove that they were in imminent danger posed by the victim.
Question Three
Chauvin was mentally stable at the time of his murdering George Floyd. The accused knowingly committed the crime because evidence presented in the video recording circulating on Facebook showed that he was conversing with the victim. Moreover, even when Floyd complained to Chauvin that he could not breathe, the accused continued to press him on the neck, exacerbating the plaintiff’s discomfort. In the video circulating on Facebook, Chauvin continued to exert pressure on the victim for more than seven minutes, which would have been enough time to handcuff him without any damage. Floyd showed no signs of resisting arrest making the cruelty of the officer unnecessary.
According to men’s rea in law, types of mental state include knowingly, intentionally, recklessly and negligently. Under knowingly, the perpetrator commits a crime with the knowledge that it will cause severe damage to the victim ( Criminal law , n.d.) . The defendant will disregard the discomfort of his victim regardless of the victims attempt to ask for intervention or stoppage. Further, the perpetrator can commit a crime intentionally, even when they had planned for it before. Further, the accused can commit a crime negligently by engaging in reckless actions, which may be proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. Therefore, criminal responsibility should be examined thoroughly by any prosecution when needing to prove that the accused was mentally stable at the time of committing a crime, such as murder.
Question Four
Derek Chauvin was convicted for the three crimes he was accused of in the court of law in fulfillment of the criminal justice system. The officer was also sentenced to twenty two and a half years in prison. Further, Chauvin lost his job to from the murder charges labeled against him as highlighted in the case proceedings. Chauvin’s family was heading to a hard time ahead since society already associating them with the crime committed by their family member. Moreover, Chauvin’s family became a subject of public ridicule and embarrassment in the United States because of the action of the defendant.
Floyd’s family got relief from the case too. Floyd may have lost his life but his family got justice. However, Floyd had daughter was affected significantly, as she will be raised without parental guidance for the rest of her life. Moreover, Floyd’s family lost their breadwinner when the deceased died from police brutality. Nevertheless, Chauvin’s guilty verdict ensured that the family was compensated for the loss of their member in the hands of police. Furthermore, the American society was affected following the verdict in many ways including globalization of the black lives matter campaign, state and federal legal intervention of systematic oppression as well as corporate boards and business changes ( George Floyd: 10 things that have changed since his death , 2020) . Additionally programs were brought down from TV, changes in the police department and bringing down statues.
The Black Lives Movement became global when people all over the world protested against oppression of black people and racism. Celebrities such as Kanye West opened a kitty to bail out arrested protesters. Black lives matter campaign raised money to support local initiatives to help the cause. Additionally, there was wide state and federal legislature intervention. New laws were introduced while others were repealed to put an end to the suffering subjected to the minorities with claims of legal grounds. Thirdly corporate boards changes to accommodate more black people. Products that were previously vied as racist were removed from circulation as well. Long standing statues of individuals whom were believed to have supported oppression of black people were brought down with renaming of structure where the involved institutions accepted that they have done wrong previously all across the entertainment industry including sports with the removal of programs that were perceived as racist from the mainstream media. Finally immense changes were conducted in the police departments to root out the bad apples and reinstall public faith in the police force. Punitive action was put in place to be used against police officers whom are involved in racial crimes.
References
Criminal law . (n.d.). Law Library - American Law and Legal Information - JRank Articles. https://law.jrank.org/pages/22506/Criminal-Law-Elements-Crime-Mens-Rea-Actus-Reus.html
George Floyd: 10 things that have changed since his death . (2020, June 12). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-53007952
Rosenfeld, J. P. (2018). Admissibility and Constitutional Issues of the Concealed Information Test in American Courts. In Detecting concealed information and deception: Recent developments . Academic Press.
Voice of America. (2021, April 20). Chauvin convicted on all charges in death of George Floyd . https://www.voanews.com/usa/chauvin-convicted-all-charges-death-george-floyd
The Washington Post. (2021, June 25). Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22½ years in prison for the murder of George Floyd . https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/25/derek-chauvin-sentencing-george-floyd/
