A recent post discussed recent developments in the state and federal criminal cases against ex-officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, including his recent motion for a new trial in federal court based on the opinion of a pathologist who had never examined Mr. Floyd or his corpse and who had never participated in either of these cases.[1] Now here is preliminary analysis of that new Chauvin motion.
Chauvin’s New Motion Challenging His Federal Conviction and Sentencing[2]
On November 13, 2023, Derek Chauvin (without legal counsel) filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to vacate his conviction and sentencing by that court, which was based on his guilty plea, for the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.
The asserted basis for this new motion was the opinion of a pathologist, Dr. William Schaetzel, who had never examined the Floyd corpse and never testified in any of the criminal cases, but who said based on review of certain papers that Floyd did not die from asphyxia from Chauvin’s actions, but from complications of a rare tumor called paragangliona that can cause a fatal surge of adrenaline.
This Motion Is Bared By Chauvin’s Guilty Plea
This new motion appears to be barred by Chauvin’s guilty plea under oath, where Chauvin admitted in writing that “certain facts were true . . .[and] established his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt].” [3] Those admissions included the following:
- Chauvin, ‘while acting under color of law . . . willfully deprived George Floyd of . . . the right to be free from an unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer. [Chauvin] . . . held his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck, back, and shoulder, and his right knee on Mr. Floyd’s back and arm. As Mr. Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, [Chauvin] . . . kept his knees on Floyd’s neck and body, even after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive. This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, George Floyd.”
- Chauvin “admits that in using this unreasonable and excessive force, he acted willfully and in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to Mr. Floyd’s life. [Chauvin] . . . knew that what he was doing was wrong, in part, because it was contrary to his training as an MPD officer.. .”
- Chauvin “also knew there was no legal justification to continue his use of force because he was aware that Mr. Floyd not only stopped resisting, but also stopped talking, stopped moving, stopped breathing, and lost consciousness and a pulse.’ [Chauvin] . . .chose to continue applying force even though he knew Mr. Floyd’s condition progressively worsened. . . . [Chauvin] also heard Mr. Floyd repeatedly explain that he could not breathe, was in pain, and wanted help.”
- Chauvin “knew that what he was doing was wrong—that continued force was no longer appropriate and that it posed significant risks to Mr. Floyd’s life—based on what he observed and heard about Mr. Floyd.”
- Chauvin “admits that he failed to render medical aid to Mr. Floyd, as he was capable of doing, and trained and required to do.”
Conclusion
Now we await the State’s response to this motion by Chauvin, any reply from Chauvin and the court’s decision on the morion.
In the meantime, on November 24, 2023, Chauvin was seriously stabbed by another inmate at the Tucson, Arizona federal prison where Chauvin was incarcerated, but Chauvin is expected to live. [3]
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[1] U.S. Supreme Court Denies Derek Chauvin’s Petition To Review His State Court Conviction for Murder and Manslaughter of George Floyd, dwkcommentaries.com (Nov. 20, 2023).
[2] Motion To Vacate Conviction and Sentence under 28 U.S.C. SECTION 2255, U.S. v. Chauvin, Case No. 21-CR-108-PAM, U.S. Dist. Ct. MN (Nov. 13, 2023); Karnowski (AP), Ex-officer Derek Chauvin makes another bid to overturn federal conviction in murder of George Floyd, StarTribune. com (Nov. 14, 2023); Krauss, Derek Chauvin files motion attempting to overturn federal conviction, StarTribune (Nov. 15, 2023); Price, Derek Chauvin claims new evidence shows he didn’t cause George Floyd’s death, attempts to overthrow conviction, Fox News (Nov. 15, 2023); Naham, Convicted murderer Derek Chauvin’s prison emails revealed as he cites pathologist’s alternate theory George Floyd ‘literally scared’ to death, Law & Crime (Nov. 15, 2023).
[3] (Sisak, Ex-officer Derek Chauvin, convicted in George Floyd’s killing, stabbed in prison, AP sources say, StarTribune (Nov,. 24, 2023); Olson & Sawyer, Derek Chauvin expected to survive after prison stabbing, StarTribune (Nov. 25, 2023); Hughlett, Derek Chauvin survives Arizona federal prison attack, raising questions about security, StarTribune Nov. 25, 2023).