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Jurors resume deliberations as the nation awaits Chauvin verdict

20 April 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Jurors in the Derek Chauvin trialresume deliberations Tuesday morning as the nation waits for a verdict.

The latest: The 12 jurors met behind closed doors for about three hours Monday before breaking for the night at 7pm.

How we got here: Jurors sat through a total of 5.5 hours of closing arguments Monday — 2 hours 46 minutes from the prosecution and 2 hours 47 minutes from the defense, according to reporter Chao Xiong — with barely any break.

  • The intensity and length of the final day in court matched its stakes as the landmark trial nears an end.

So how longwill it take for them to reach a verdict?

  • It's anyone'sguess. Juries can deliberate for minutes or days or even weeks.
  • Yes, but: Most experts don't expect deliberations in this case to drag out that long.
  • Of note: Jurors are weighing three charges: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Flashback: It took jurors about 11 hours to render a guilty verdict on third-degree murder charges against former MPD officer Mohamed Noor in 2019.

The last words: Here's are highlights from the closing:

  • Prosecutor Steve Schleicher: "This case is ... exactly what you believed. It's exactly what you saw with your eyes. It's exactly what you knew. It's what you felt in your gut. It's what you now know in your heart. This wasn't policing. This was murder."
  • Defense Attorney Eric Nelson: "In this case the totality of the circumstances ... demonstrates this was an authorized use of force, as unattractive as it may be."
  • Judge Peter Cahill: "This case is important and serious and therefore deserves your careful consideration."

What's next: Jurors are expected to deliberate until about 7pm each day if needed.

  • Cahill has said there will be more than an hour's notice before a verdict is read in court.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.