A judge has given Derek Chauvin’s attorneys permission to examine George Floyd’s samples in an attempt to overturn his conviction on a federal civil rights charge connected to Floyd’s 2020 death. Chauvin is a former Minneapolis police officer.
The defense argued that Floyd died of a heart condition made worse by a rare tumor, not asphyxiation from the white officer pressing his knee against the Black man’s neck for nine and a half minutes, despite Floyd’s last cries of “I can’t breathe.” U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson agreed in an order on Monday to allow the defense to examine Floyd’s heart tissue and fluid samples.
Floyd’s death provoked protests around the world, some of which turned violent, and forced the country to face racism and police violence.
Chauvin entered a guilty plea in federal court for violating Floyd’s civil rights after being found guilty of murder in state court in 2021.
Robert Meyers, his federal defender for his appeal, contended in his request that Chauvin’s initial lawyer, Eric Nelson, had neglected to disclose to his client that Dr. William Schaetzel of Topeka, Kansas, an outside pathologist not directly involved in the case, had gotten in touch with Nelson before Chauvin’s plea and provided an unsolicited theory that Chauvin was not responsible for Floyd’s death.
Chauvin is asking for a new trial because he feels that this amounted to ineffective aid counsel and that he would not have entered a guilty plea if he had been aware of the pathology.
Nelson made a reasonable tactical choice, according to federal prosecutors in court documents, to reject an unsubstantiated opinion presented by a person posing as an expert.
They contended that the jury disregarded Chauvin’s medical reasoning, despite Nelson having discussed Chauvin’s cases with other medical specialists, including one who provided testimony in state court. They added that there are very high legal obstacles to success in a claim of inadequate legal representation.
On Tuesday, Nelson chose not to comment.
Chauvin is incarcerated in a federal prison in Texas while serving concurrent 20-year federal civil rights and 22 1/2-year state murder terms. The US Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal of his murder conviction last year.
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