Derek Chauvin will ask U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction in George Floyd murder case

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is poised to ask the United States Supreme Court to reconsider hear his his conviction in the killing of George Floyd, his attorney said.

Chauvin was found guilty in April 2021 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with Floyd’s death on Memorial Day more than three years ago. He was one of four officers called to a Minneapolis convenience store, where Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, had allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes.

Bystander video of the subsequent confrontation shows Chauvin kneeling down on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, ignoring his cries of “I can’t breathe.” The clips were later shared on social media and quickly went viral, sparking fierce criticism of law enforcement and protests against police brutality in Minneapolis and beyond.

Chauvin’s attorney, William Mohrmann, said there are several reasons why the conviction should be overturned, including the amount of attention the case received. He has long argued the trial could have turned out differently if it was held outside of Minneapolis and away from the backlash triggered by Floyd’s death.

“This criminal trial generated the most amount of pretrial publicity in history,” Morhmann said Wednesday.

“More concerning are the riots which occurred after George Floyd’s death (and) led the jurors to all express concerns for their safety in the event they acquitted Mr. Chauvin — safety concerns which were fully evidenced by surrounding the courthouse in barbed wire and National Guard troops during the trial and deploying the National Guard throughout Minneapolis prior to jury deliberations.”

Mohrmann in May requested the Minnesota Supreme Court consider the case after the Minnesota Court of Appeals in April rejected his arguments.

On Tuesday, the state’s highest court denied Chauvin’s petition in a one-page order without additional comment, allowing Chauvin’s conviction and 22 1/2-year sentence to stand.

With News Wire Services