Last week, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin filed a new petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that his trial contained serious constitutional defects and that the prosecution “can only run from the truth for so long.”
According to the 71-page memorandum submitted on November 20, Chauvin contends that his conviction in the death of George Floyd was built on faulty causation and intent arguments, and that expert testimony and video evidence were misused by the state.
The petition begins by outlining that Chauvin was convicted on April 20 2021 of unintentional second-degree murder, then sentenced to 270 months in prison on June 25, 2021.
The memorandum asserts that the technique used, a knee-to-neck restraint in the MRT (Maximal Restraint Technique), was in fact part of MPD training at the time, contradicting expert testimony during the trial.
According to the petition, 50 current or former officers submitted sworn declarations stating that the technique was taught in MPD training, bolstering Chauvin’s claim. (RELATED: ‘I Can’t Keep Everybody in Jail’: Judge’s Decision Ends in CTA Train Fire Attack)
Chauvin’s petition also challenges the reliance on video-based expert testimony from the state’s doctors, especially Dr. Martin Tobin, who built mathematical models from still frames and video footage to infer that Floyd was asphyxiated.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker, testified that there was no anatomical evidence of asphyxia, and that Floyd’s death was a “multifactorial process” involving severe heart disease, drug use, and restraint.
The petition claims that the state experts’ video-analysis methods lacked a solid scientific foundation and were inconsistent with the medical examiner’s findings. (RELATED: Mequon Sees Spike In Crime And Break Ins As Gangs With South American Ties Are To Blame)
The rumors of Donald Trump pardoning Derek Chauvin is limited: Trump could only issue clemency for Chauvin’s federal civil-rights conviction, not his state murder convictions in Minnesota. Minnesota officials say they have no credible indication that Trump plans such a pardon, though the state is preparing for possible unrest if one occurred.