Attorney s in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin finished closing arguments on Monday following weeks of testimony as the nation braces for a verdict while jurors deliberate.
Attorneys from both sides are seeking to distill three weeks of testimony in order to convince jurors to acquit or convict Chauvin on second- and third-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court first began hearing testimony in the case on March 29.
FAST FACTS
Second-degree murder requires prosecutors to prove Chauvin intended to harm Floyd.
Third-degree murder requires proof that Chauvin s actions were eminently dangerous and done with indifference to loss of life.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) promised to fight for the “America First” policies of Donald Trump. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
DRIVING THE DAY
On day two of a massive wave of backlash, the “America First Caucus” appears to have blown up on the launchpad, as Rep.
Final arguments in Derek Chauvin trial focus on fateful day April 17, 2021 7:25pm Text size Copy shortlink:
The livestreamed trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd nears a conclusion Monday with two lawyers presenting their final, most compelling version of what happened on the street outside Cup Foods almost one year ago.
After 45 witnesses and 14 days of testimony in the Hennepin County District Court trial, special prosecutor Steve Schleicher and defense lawyer Eric Nelson will make their closing arguments, the final words the jurors hear from them before retreating behind closed doors to deliberate. The whole trial is about dropping the puzzle pieces in the middle of the courtroom and slowly putting them together, St. Paul criminal and civil litigator A.L. Brown said. The closing argument is putting them together how you see it.
Daunte Wright s family members joined with community leaders Thursday in calling for more serious charges and a life sentence against the white former police officer who fatally shot him, comparing her case to the murder charge brought against a black officer who killed a white woman in nearby Minneapolis.
Former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter in Sunday s shooting of Wright, a 20-year-old black man, during a traffic stop.
Wright s family members and protesters who have confronted police all week since his death say there s no excuse for the shooting. Unfortunately, there s never going to be justice for us, Wright s mother, Katie Wright, said at a news conference Thursday. Justice isn t even a word to me. I do want accountability.
The police shooting of Daunte Wright has sparked nights of protests and days of fast-moving case developments
elisfkc2 / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
For five nights in a row, protesters have gathered often with snow falling around them outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department to chant the name Daunte Wright, whose fatal shooting during a traffic stop Sunday sparked anger in the Minneapolis area and across the nation.
During the days, the local community witnessed a fast-moving series of developments as authorities sought to address the outrage.
Wright’s death resonated deeply in a state with still open wounds after the deaths of two other Black men at the hands of police: Philando Castile in 2016 and George Floyd in 2020. The protests, and the nearby trial of the officer charged in Floyd’s death, have boiled over anger and reignited national conversations about policing and the use of force nationally.