After 10 hours of deliberations over two days, the jury in the case against the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, returned its verdict: guilty as charged. Derek Chauvin, age 45, was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter on Tuesday afternoon. He could serve up to 40 years in prison for his crimes.
Despite the ongoing sorrow of the loss of life that ushered in the court case, there was a sense of relief and even jubilation around the nation. In Minneapolis, hundreds of people poured into the streets, some carrying banners. Others wept openly. Drivers blared horns in solidarity with those celebrating. Some claimed justice had been delivered for George Floyd.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was quoted on Twitter, saying, “I would not call today’s verdict justice, however, because justice implies true restoration. But it is accountability, which is the first step toward justice.”
It is true that nothing—including the decision of the jury and the sentence yet to be mandated by the judge—will restore the life of the man who died while the police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes after he was handcuffed, subdued, and no longer resisting the restrictions placed on him. In that regard, human justice is limited. Only God can raise the dead to life again. For that reason, taking another human life—even in legal situations of duress and difficulty—must be treated with extreme seriousness. The circumstances and actions of those involved must be examined, evaluated, and judged.
President Joe Biden welcomed the verdict. But he warned that it was not, in itself, a full solution. “We can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen again,” the President warned.
In the wake of Floyd’s death last May, protest demonstrations and scattered violence broke out in Minneapolis, around the nation, and beyond. In the months following the protests and riots, numerous states and cities restricted the use of force by police, revamped disciplinary systems, or subjected police departments to closer oversight.
(Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is taken into custody. Chauvin was found guilty on three counts in his trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. Court TV via AP)
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8
@Guys, really?
I'm not even going read these comments...
D:
I think the guy refusing to accept the truth because it doesn't align with his preconceived political opinion looks a little more foolish, but who's to say for sure. Everyone has their own definition of fool.
@Zack W
I literally proved my point, what more do you want?
104th comment
I think Ashers right he just pointed out his opinion, and that's that, we don't have argue about it, we can disagree nicely about it if you don't believe it, but nobody needs to make a stink about anything.
AMEN Nora. Debate CLOSED.
AMEN Nora. Debate CLOSED.
Pls?
Pls?
@Micah Lol, let them debate
@Micah Lol, let them debate if they want *shrug*
this is London
i think this is silly'!!!!! like that was a year ago and there are more things to worry about rn. GF was already way overdoused and he beat a woman so i mean he should of been in jail allready . the police officer was trying to get him and he said he couldnt breath. and why would you give his family that much. more debt thats sillly
and i feel bad for the polices family
he said he couldnt breath
he said he couldnt breath before
before typo XD
before typo XD
111th comment!!! All ones. :)
111th comment!!! All ones. :)
Sorry, I just had to say that
Sorry, I just had to say that :) XD
:D
Maybe you failed to consider, proving a point actually requires proof...
@Zack W
"You should be able to find it by looking up George Floyd Autopsy. It will be in pdf form and the headline will say "Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office Autopsy Report". I would just give you the link but that is not allowed here."
I did prove my point on that article by providing proof. Who do you think you are to say that this is not proof. You are just digging yourself a deeper and deeper hole here so I suggest that you stand down and admit that you were wrong.
You make this too easy
Funny you should bring up the Hennepin County medical examiner's office, I hope you know they ruled that George Floyd's death was a homicide.
Experts and witnesses agree the fentanyl in George Floyd's system wasn't enough to be fatal, and I trust them quite a bit more than I do some random raging teenager over the internet.
I can see you're trying your best to sound smart and intimidating, but I don't feel any need to "back down" when the facts are so obviously on my side.
oop
oof, Zach sounds B.A.
but Asher is still right (and still B.A.)
lol
j.k.
@Asher E
Im not kidding though about you bein B.A. You always are. (if you know what that means)
@Zack W
Oh, the facts are on your side? Then tell me, what is a lethal dose of fentanyl?
People have died from .75 ng/ml of fentanyl in their system. George Floyd had 11 ng/ml of fentanyl in his system at the time of his first autopsy. If the HCME's office said that it was a homicide their own autopsy report proved them wrong.
Your manipulated and falsified facts have no standing in this community so I will suggest again that you calm down, admit you were wrong, and back off.
@Aryelle D
I do indeed know what that means.
@Asher E
No offense but I would suggest you calming down. I don't want to hurt your feelings and I'm sorry if I do. But maybe you should re-read your comment and try to look at it from the other persons view.
I'm really sorry if I hurt
I'm really sorry if I hurt someone's feelings.
@Kiara J
Thank you for the concern about my feelings, I took no offence from your comment. However, I am calm, just as I have been throughout the whole exchange.
My question to you is, why would the different views of a person matter when you are debating facts? If we were in the hypothetical I would take your advice and I will still try to apply it in this situation. However, facts are the driving force of this debate so his view is much less important than his willingness to accept facts.
Sigh
Tell me, what is a lethal dose of peanut butter? People have died from less than a spoonful.
Basing the lethality of a substance off of the lowest amount that can kill instead of the amount that consistently kills is idiotic. The amount of fentanyl in George Floyd's system, 11 ng/ml, wasn't an abnormal or usually deadly amount. A quarter of people pulled over for driving while on fentanyl had over 11 ng/ml, and they certainly didn't drop dead after being arrested. Further, George Floyd had none of the symptoms of a fentanyl overdose. His eyes were dilated and his respiration rate was normal. Two independent autopsies both done by specialists concluded he didn't die from an overdose. Continuing to claim otherwise is blatantly ignorant.
Again, I won't "back off" when your inane arguments could be debunked by a chimpanzee with access to google search.
@Zack W
I am not saying that the lowest lethal dose applies to all cases however 11 ng/ml is a very high dose compared to the lower limit. Not to mention that his fentanyl levels would have been higher at the time of his od than 12 hours after.
About the people who were pulled over, you will need to provide some proof there.
George Floyd had none of the symptoms of a fentanyl overdose? Are you insane?! Difficulty thinking was apparent in the video as well as trouble breathing before the cops touched him. To deny that he had symptoms of an overdose is idiotic.
It's nice that you think your chimpanzee intelligence and google searches are able to debunk the facts but you are going to need to get a lot smarter before you make any more of your outlandish claims.
La la lala
@KN
It's not so bad...some articles are a lot worse.
My Thoughts @All
I am sad that George died.
I am praying for the cop.
I don't think anyone can really judge anyone except the LORD, so I'm not going to judge either one. And question: Why are people rioting about this (resorting to violence, if I have my facts straight) and didn't do anything to help Floyd when the cop was on him? I mean, if they are upset at people who hardly had anything to do with it, then why didn't they help Floyd? Hope no one is offended, this is an honest question. I am not saying the cop was wrong, or Floyd was wrong. If it was racism, horrid. I have been a victim of racism. And there is no reason to judge ANYONE by there skin color. 'Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.'
@Zack W and Asher E
Both of you are made in the image of God. PLEASE be nicer to each other? Think WWJD?
@Zack W and Asher E
Both of you are made in the image of God. PLEASE be nicer to each other? Think WWJD?
@Zack W
Can you please give proof of where you are getting your info? I don't need to ask Asher because I already saw his.
@Both of y'all: Yes, let's keep debating, but can we please stop using the sort of name calling before it gets worse like the other article?
@Zack W
A chimp. XD. Nice, original metaphor, but no need to be a jerk, bro.
oop
Stop telling Asher and Zach to be nice to each other. They both have bigs brains and big boy pants. They can handle themselves.
YOU GUYS!!!! everyone that is saying to not let this get into a big thing or whatever, you need to stop! People have the right to debate here, if you don't want to see it then stop checking in every minute like a social media account. STOP! JUST STOP!
@ARYELLE D
that was so random
@Christian B
Actually, it was very pertinent to the discussion.
@Asher E
thank you
@Christian B, I said that because every time Asher and Zach say something, there are like 5 comments from everyone saying to be nice. It's stupid. To be honest I don't care if anyone was offended by what I said. What I am saying is true and I feel bad for Asher and Zach. I liked the big debate we had last time George Floyd was brought up.
So yeah not sorry anyone........
@ARYELLE D
this is true
@Aryelle D
That last debate was totally epic.
@Asher E
Sorry, I'm kind of a peacemaker and shy on expressing my thoughts because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
I'm also 1/2 African American
I'm also 1/2 African American so this is kinda... I don't know what to say.
@Kiara
It doesn't matter if your half African American, Im full African-American. It shouldn't be about African Americans and Caucasians. We are all people. But, this problem is about our race of human beings,sooo....I get your point. But don't use being African American as an excuse. That will tick me off if you do. If ANYONE uses black privilege (besides me on this site and the only reason why I use it is because me and my sister have street cred.) I will spiritually and mentally slap you. (don't test me.........)
I agree, Aryelle.
I agree, Aryelle.
Incontrovertible
The statistic about fentanyl DUIs was presented by Dr. Daniel Isenschmid, a forensic toxicologist at N.M.S. Labs in Pennsylvania, who testified at the trial. The numbers came from the 2,300 blood samples from intoxicated drivers that were done by N.M.S. Labs. Dr. Isenschmid also drew attention to the fact that George Floyd had a high proportion of norfentanyl in his body, something almost never found in overdose victims.
The point about George Floyd not showing symptoms of an overdose was brought up by Dr. Martin Tobin, an expert Pulmonologist, who testified at the trial. He pointed out that dangerous amounts of fentanyl lower a person's respiratory rate. George Floyd was breathing at a normal 22 breaths per minute before he passed out, if he was dying from a fentanyl overdose his breaths per minute should have been half that. No symptoms there. Dr. Bill Smock, police surgeon who also testified at the trial, said that a fentanyl overdose would cause a person's pupils to constrict, George Floyd's were dilated. No symptoms there.
Whining about my sources then calling everything you agree with a fact without any explanation isn't a great tactic for convincing people, it's just great at being really irritating. The autopsies, the experts, the facts, and common sense are against you here.
Hesperus D.
I'm glad someone else likes my metaphors lol, but you're right. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, I'm just tired and annoyed.
@Zack W
Ok thank you.
Also thank you for admitting that you weren't trying to be a jerk and that you were just tired and annoyed. We all including MYSELF have to remember that debates aren't to force people to change their ideas and think like we think. It is just an opportunity to get our ideas out there. Yeah I have to remember that too.
:l
@Aryellle completely attacked @Kiara for saying she's 1/2 African-American
@Zack W
Oooof, I getchu. I have younger three younger siblings, so I totally know what that's like.
@Christian B
That was not an attack, what are you talking about.
@Christian B
TBH, If Kiara was hurt by what I said is because she knows I'm right. But the way she tried to say that if she hurt anyone feeling and then said that she was 1/2 African American was not okay, being African American does not give anyone the right to be a jerk (you weren't being a jerk Kiara but Im saying an example). Okay I admit, the African American culture have people with a attitude and are not afraid of what to say ( I'm one of them). What Kiara did was totally different though.....
@Asher E
imm not even talking to you....
@ARYELLE D
she was just saying she is 1/2 black maybe she just said it at the wrong time or maybe she meant to say it when she did. idk imm not her
wish we could turn back time
wish we could turn back time
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