The verdict came back quickly--something like ten hours of deliberations for this latest "trial of the century." Guilty on all three counts: Second degree murder, third degree murder, manslaughter. Certainly the right verdict, and seemingly obvious, but the degree of relief that I'm feeling indicates just how troubled our society is.
For the sake of posterity--in case someone stumbles upon this blog in some distant future when recent events have faded into obscurity--the facts of the case: In late May 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic (or one of the heights, anyway), in Minneapolis, Minnesota, police responded to a call about a man passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. Police subdued the suspect, George Floyd, and laid him face down on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back. One of the cops, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, despite Floyd's protestations that he couldn't breathe and his pleas for his mother. A crowd of onlookers gathered during these minutes, recording Chauvin on their phones and begging him to get off of Floyd. Three other police officers warned the crowd back but did nothing to intervene on behalf of Floyd. Chauvin kept kneeling on Floyd's neck, even after Floyd fell silent. Floyd was soon pronounced dead.
The evidence against Chauvin was overwhelming. Obvious. Of course, he had caused Floyd's death. Of course his behavior was unjustified by any conceivable "threat" posed by the handcuffed, prone, and thoroughly subdued George Floyd--who really never seemed to pose any threat throughout the entire encounter. Multiple medical professionals testified that Chauvin's actions had caused Floyd's death, and multiple police professionals testified that Chauvin's actions were unjustified by any police procedures. The trial lasted about three weeks, with virtually no defense presented. The prosecution eviscerated the defense. In the last lines of its closing argument--words that should live forever in the annals of legal history--prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said, "Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big. You heard that testimony. . . And the truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin's heart was too small."
And then, after less than ten hours of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict. The speed—combined with common sense—certainly suggested a guilty verdict. And yet memories of the Rodney King verdict and any number of other miscarriages of justice in the face of blatant police brutality and racism gave pause as we waited to hear the verdict. And therein lies the problem: The fact that we are so relieved by what should be an obvious result shows how damaged we are as a society.
It's reminiscent of last year's presidential elections, when we were all holding our breath to see if the one candidate who had received seven-plus million more votes than the other candidate would be declared the winner (after the previous presidential election when the loser had only received about three-million more votes than the winner). This is a democracy?
A police officer casually murders an unarmed, incapacitated man in front of numerous witnesses, and we need to keep our fingers crossed that he's found guilty. This is a society of law?
"Chauvin Guilty" is a good headline. But there's no celebration here. Just a recognition of how far we need to go.
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