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Originally Posted by dino7c
They have got to be careful with these charges...I realize people want justice but if any of these guys get off on these charges the current riots will look like a tea party
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I'd like to think they know what they're doing. I did read this when looking up second-degree murder in Minnesota:
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No one remotely familiar with Minnesota law would regard either of those charges (the original, lighter charges) as the right ones to bring in this case — a case where, even if intent cannot be proven, a second-degree felony murder charge, punishable by 40 years in prison, is manifestly justified. Under a quirk in Minnesota law, second-degree murder can be charged where an assault — such as the first-degree assault evident from Chauvin’s placement of his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes — unintentionally results in death.
More critically, anyone steeped in Minnesota law would recognize that the third-degree murder charge would likely be summarily dismissed for the ironic reason that Chauvin clearly aimed his acts at Floyd. Such a miscarriage of justice would surely trigger still more chaos and violence from coast to coast as people across the political spectrum come to see American justice as unworthy of the name.
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https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/...floyds-killer/
This article is written by two legal professionals who seem very experienced in criminal law. Their take seems to be that the original charge is actually more difficult to land than the upgraded charge, given the evidence we know.