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In the trial of the death of George Floyd, ex-police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts: second-degree murder without intent (under German law, this would be more like manslaughter), third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The exact sentence will be announced later.
On May 25, 2020, he held the knee of Floyd, who had been arrested for a suspected false 20-dollar bill, for minutes, although the latter complained several times that he could not breathe.
Floyd's death captured on the cell phone video sparked unprecedented protests by the Black Lives Matter movement against racism and police violence in the United States.
The city of Minneapolis agreed in March on a settlement payment of 27 million US dollars (about 22.6 million euros) because of police actions with Floyd's family.
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US President Joe Biden had indicated on Tuesday that he was hoping for a guilty verdict against the accused ex-police officer Derek Chauvin in the trial for the death of the African American George Floyd. "I pray that the verdict will be the correct one," Biden said in the White House on Tuesday. In his opinion, the evidence is "overwhelming". He pointed out that the jury in the trial of Chauvin on Monday in Minneapolis had started their deliberations and are therefore being sealed off from the public. Otherwise he would not have commented on the case, he said. The statements of the President about an ongoing judicial process caused astonishment.
The Democratic MP Maxine Waters said at a protest over the weekend that if Chauvin is not condemned, protesters will have to become “more active” and “more confrontational”.
Judge Cahill said on Monday that Waters' remarks could result in the outcome of the ongoing appeal being overturned.
"I would like elected representatives to stop talking about this case, especially in a way that is disrespectful to the rule of law and the judiciary."
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However, Cahill denied Chauvin's defense attorney's motion to annul the ongoing process because of the MPs' statements.
"A MP's opinion isn't really that important," said the judge.
More soon
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