A lawyer for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the United States has asked a new trial, barely two weeks after Chauvin was found guilty of second-and third-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of a Black man, George Floyd.
In a document filed to District Court Judge Peter Cahill on Tuesday, Eric Nelson said the ex-officer was deprived of a fair trial, citing alleged prosecutorial and jury misconduct, errors of law at the trial and that the verdict was contrary to law.
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‘The publicity here was so pervasive and so prejudicial before and during this trial that it amounted to a structural defect in the proceedings,‘ Nelson wrote in the motion, as reported by broadcaster CNN.
Chauvin’s conviction on April 20 after a widely watched trial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been welcomed by activists as well as US politicians, who said it was an important step forward in the fight for racial justice in the US.
Floyd’s murder on May 25 last year was captured on camera and led to mass protests across the US and around the world, with thousands taking to the streets to demand an end to police violence against Black people.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
