Scott Olson/Getty Images While Americans waited Tuesday for the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Fordham Law professor and prominent criminologist John Pfaff tweeted something grim. He wondered: Would a conviction, “however much justice demands it,” actually be a step forward? “Would an acquittal here,” Pfaff continued, “push more people to demand more radical change? Does a conviction lead too many to think ‘the system corrects itself.’ Or... not?” I genuinely wonder if a conviction, however much justice demands it, is actually—practically, empirically—a step forward. Would an acquittal here push more ppl to demand more radical change? Does a conviction lead too many to think “the system corrects itself.”