George Floyd’s Death Trial Begins Today With Jury Composition

In Minneapolis, in the United States, the lawsuit against the white policeman accused of the manslaughter of the black man George Floyd begins today.

 

That was the beginning of a storm of protest, also in our country. In Minneapolis’s American city, thousands of people took to the streets on the eve of the trial yesterday.

George Floyd, 46, died on May 25, 2020, during his arrest in Minneapolis. He was accused of using a counterfeit $ 20 note. The man was handcuffed and held to the ground by three officers. Agent Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes. His death sparked a wave of protests against racism and police brutality in the US, which spread to other parts of the world.

The trial starts today with the jury’s composition, and that alone can take three weeks, says correspondent Björn Soenens in ‘The Morning’ on Radio 1. “It is essential that the jury unanimously reaches a verdict at the end of this trial. otherwise, the process must be redone. “

Moreover, the selection of the jurors is extra sensitive in these types of lawsuits. “Both sides will want to select the right jurors, which is important in the case of racism or police brutality.”

An essential question at this trial is Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee clamp that led to George Floyd’s death.

“Lobbyists tell me their coroner points to drugs in George Floyd’s blood,” says Björn Soenens. “According to them, Floyd was very unhealthy and had a heart defect. He would have died anyway, and the knee clamp was not the cause of death, they say.”