Reasonable Doubt | Hacker News Reader

Reasonable Doubt

chicagoreader.com

I've kind of lost my faith in the judicial system after they gave in to the mob and convicted Derek Chauvin, with plenty of reasonable doubt to set him free.

The legal system is as political, biased and arbitrary as any other part of our lives. There is no justice, only luck.

Reasonable doubt? I’m surprised. I watched part of the proceedings and it actually restored my faith in the legal system. Not because of the outcome, but because of the process. Interesting how different people’s perceptions can be. Would you mind explaining your points if doubt?

I watched most of it, the coroner report and testimony alone should have been sufficient as reasonable doubt, not to mention police training materials and witness testimony which showed Chauvin did exactly as instructed per standard procedure, not to mention aggressive crowd including a former MMA fighter threatening the officers and diverting their attention during arrest, not to mention Floyd's prior history of high BP and heart problems, and earlier arrest where he ended up in hospital under the same circumstances, not to mention the lethal dose of fentanyl combined with meth in his system, not to mention prosecution not able to procure any evidence of Floyd dying from neck restraint besides speculation and emotional speeches.

Chauvin's lawyer did a decent job, but it was a travesty of justice with politicians demanding "the right verdict" or else cities will burn and aggressive mobs outside intimidating the jury, not to mention an actual BLM activist on the jury. It was a 'banana republic' style trial.

Well. I had a very different impression. The „mob“ was a couple of citizens, mostly young women, who stood back at the sidewalk. The „MMA fighter“ was a very conciencious, polite person. There was not a single instance of the officers being threatened. There was video footage corroborating all of this.

Multiple witnesses testified that Floyd continued to plea that he cannot breathe. The witnesses said they all - as bystanders - were concerned for Floyd‘s life.

And I think Chauvin‘s lawyer did a horrible job. He came across as smug. He went on endless tangents, tiring out witnesses and jurors.

But that‘s not why Chauvin is going to jail. And neither are the protests. Someone died at the hands of police officers because his breathing had been constricted through the use of force. The victim had verbalized that he couldn‘t breathe, and it had also been evident to bystanders.

I can say that I never want to be in the position in which Floyd found himself. He was made into a pure object of police force. He was not being heard, not with his own voice, and not even with other people standing next to him speaking on his behalf. In my view, it would be a banana republic if the courts would uphold such behavior on the part of government force.

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