When the jury announced they had a verdict just one day after closing arguments, it was clear Officer Chauvin was going to be convicted on at least some of the charges. But I wouldn't have guessed that he would be convicted on all three charges, including the hardest one to prove, second-degree murder. The second-degree murder charge requires proving that Chauvin unintentionally caused Floyd's death while committing felony assault, the latter requiring "intentional infliction of substantial bodily harm." The prosecutors must have done a very good job to secure a conviction on that charge as well.
Interestingly, during this whole trial, I've not heard of any evidence suggesting that Chauvin's criminal misconduct reflected racial animus. Shoot me an e-mail if I missed something.
It's certainly a great relief that Chauvin was convicted, and actually encouraging that he was convicted on all three counts. Let us hope it has a deterrent effect on other police officers.
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