Judge allows George Floyd’s tissue samples to be tested as officer seeks new trial on civil rights conviction

A judge granted permission for Derek Chauvin’s attorney to examine tissue samples from George Floyd’s body. She’s part of a former Minneapolis police officer Challenge efforts His federal conviction for Violation of Floyd’s civil rights After he was too He was convicted in the 2020 killing of Floyd.

US District Judge Paul Magnuson issued the order on Monday, agreeing to allow the defense to examine Floyd’s heart tissue and fluid samples. This will be done to test a theory that Floyd died of a heart condition exacerbated by a rare tumor, and not – as prosecutors assert – due to asphyxiation caused by the white officer pressing his knee on the black man’s neck for nine and a half hours. Minutes in May 2020.

Chauvin’s federal defender, Robert Myers, argued in his appeal attempt that Chauvin’s original attorney, Eric Nelson, failed to inform his client that an outside pathologist not directly involved in the case, Dr. William Schaetzel, had contacted Nelson before Chauvin entered his confession and offered An unsolicited theory that Chauvin did not cause Floyd’s death.

Chauvin claims that amounts to “ineffective aid counsel,” which it is Seeking a new trial, Saying that he would not have pleaded guilty if he had known about the coroner’s order.

But federal prosecutors argued in court filings that Nelson made a reasonable “tactical decision” not to explore an untested opinion “presented by someone who considers himself an expert.”

The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the murder conviction

They noted that Nelson consulted other medical experts in preparation for Chauvin’s cases, including someone who testified in state court, but the jury in that case rejected Chauvin’s medical defense. Federal prosecutors also noted that the legal barriers to success on an ineffective counsel claim are extremely high.

Nelson declined to comment Tuesday.

He was chauvin He was convicted in state court On murder charges in 2021 and He pleaded guilty later that year In federal court for violating Floyd’s civil rights. He is currently serving his 20-year federal civil rights sentence and 22 1/2-year murder sentences concurrently in a federal prison in Texas.

US Supreme Court Chauvin’s appeal denied He was convicted of murder last year.

Floyd’s death and his dying cries of “I can’t breathe” ignited protests around the world — some of them turned violent – And he forced A Account of police brutality And racism.