Derek Chauvin Appeals Murder Conviction

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is appealing his murder conviction on the grounds that the jury was swayed by publicity and protesters.

Chauvin filed on Monday to request his conviction be reversed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Daily Caller reports. He requested that the court order a resentencing or grant a new trial in a new venue. 

As previously reported by Human Events News, Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April of 2021. He was sentenced to over 22 years in prison. He and three other former officers who were present at the time of Floyd’s death – Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao – all plead not guilty to federal charges of violating civil rights. 

Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison last June after pinning George Floyd to the ground in May of 2020, resulting in his death. 

Chauvin’s appeal argues that the trial should have been moved out of Hennepin County, where Floyd died, due to the substantial media coverage the case received there, and that jurors were pressured to convict due to fear that protesters in and around Hennepin County would threaten their safety if Chauvin was acquitted.

“The overwhelming media coverage exposed the jurors — literally every day — to news demonizing Chauvin and glorifying Floyd which was more than sufficient to presume prejudice,” the court filing said.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has 45 days to respond to the appeal, which also argues that Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who sentenced Chauvin, did not properly follow sentencing guidelines and should not have included an aggravating sentencing factor for “abuse of a position of authority.”