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Chauvin demands retrial after Floyd murder verdict

LAWYERS for former US cop Derek Chauvin have asked for a new trial two weeks after he was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. 

Defence attorney Eric Nelson claimed on Tuesday that Mr Chauvin was deprived of a fair trial, citing alleged prosecutorial and jury misconduct and errors of law in the proceedings and claiming that the verdict was contrary to law.

Ex-Minneapolis police officer Mr Chauvin was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of Mr Floyd on May 25 last year. 

His death, which came after Mr Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes while Mr Floyd pleaded for his life, sparked global protests led by the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Mr Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison with sentencing due to take place next month.

But Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and lead prosecutor Matthew Frank have argued that Mr Chauvin deserves a bigger sentence than state guidelines allow as he was acting in a position of authority and subjected Mr Floyd to cruelty. 

“[The] defendant’s actions inflicted gratuitous pain and caused psychological distress to Mr Floyd and to the bystanders”, they wrote in a memorandum to judge Peter Cahill last week, adding that Mr Chauvin made “no attempt” to give Mr Floyd medical attention.

But in his own papers filed with the judge, Mr Nelson said: “The publicity here was so pervasive and so prejudicial before and during this trial that it amounted to a structural defect in the proceedings.” 

His motion alleges that the jury committed misconduct, felt pressured and/or failed to adhere to jury instructions, but is vague on the details. 

Soon after the motion was announced, Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump tweeted: “No, no, no. Guilty, guilty, guilty.”

The filing of the motion had been anticipated by prosecutors, who said it was a fairly standard procedure for defence lawyers after a conviction. 

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