Day 1: March 29, 2021
#DerekChauvinTrial Update:
Opening Statements complete, 2.5 witnesses down.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said in opening statements that Floyd died from oxygen deprivation, fighting for "one breath at a time," over an extended period of time.
Blackwell said Floyd did not die of a drug overdose, as the defense has suggested. Blackwell said Floyd had fentanyl in his system at the time of his death, but that he had developed a tolerance to the drug after struggling with opioid addiction for years. Blackwell mentioned something that I find personally relevant as soon who has relatives who suffer from hard core addictions. Blackwell pointed out that someone who died of an opioid overdose would appear to be asleep.
"They're not screaming for their lives, they're not calling for their mothers, not begging 'Please, please, I can't breathe,'" Blackwell said. "That's not what an opioid overdose looks like."
On that point, he is right.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Eric Nelson offered a different explanation for Floyd's death. He said he would provide evidence to show that Floyd died of cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension and coronary disease, and that the ingestion of drugs and the adrenaline in his body "all acted to further compromise an already compromised heart."
Nelson said an autopsy showed coronary disease and an enlarged heart, and toxicology tests revealed the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine. He pointed out that the medical examiner found no tell tale signs of asphyxiation, and no evidence Floyd's airflow was restricted.
He argued the case amounts to more than 50,000 items, saying, "The evidence is far greater than nine minutes and 29 seconds."
So there you have that, not that the extra 40 something seconds mattered much, 8:46 seconds was long enough.
Nelson said that the attempt to get Floyd into custody was "not an easy struggle." "You will see that three Minneapolis police officers could not overcome the strength of Mr. Floyd," Nelson said.
Nelson argued that police officers must respond to rapidly evolving situations, saying quote, Chauvin "did exactly what he was trained to do over the course of his 19-year career."
Two witnesses were questioned, the third was abruptly cut when the court's live feed stopping working and the judge dismissed everyone until tomorrow morning.
The first was the 911 dispatcher. The second was witness who worked at the Speedway gas station across the street from the Cup Foods and had taken several videos of the incident and later gave them to police. And the third, incomplete witness was Donald Williams, the man heard on the bystander video.
Current Seated Jurors:
*14 total (12 on the jury panel and 2 alternates)
*Self-identified race, gender, and decade of age information for current seated jurors.*
Juror #2: White Male, 20s
Juror #9: Multi/Mixed Race Female, 20s
Juror #19: White Male, 30s
Juror #27: Black Male, 30s
Juror #44: White Female, 50s
Juror #52: Black Male, 30s
Juror #55: White Female, 50s
Juror #79: Black Male, 40s
Juror #85: Multi/Mixed, Female, 40s
Juror #89: White Female, 50s
Juror #91: Black Female, 60s
Juror #92: White Female, 40s
Juror #96: White Female, 50s
Juror #118: White Female, 20s
SUMMARY:
*14 jurors seated total; (9 White, 4 Black, 2 Multi/Mixed)
-
*5 Male (2 White, 3 Black)
*9 Female ( 6 White, 2 Multi/Mixed, 1 Black)
*(4) jurors - 20s;
(3) jurors - 30s;
(3) jurors - 40s;
(4) jurors - 50s;
(1) - 60s
#FYI
#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd
#SeeItThru
#TeacherLyfe
