Crime & Courts

The plea agreement was denied by 3 former officers in the death of George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS – Prosecutors revealed Monday night that they had entered plea agreements for three former Minneapolis police officers accused of aiding and abetting the killing of George Floyd, but said at a hearing that the defendants dismissed them.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill is primarily holding the hearing to see if he has the authority to authorize live coverage of the upcoming trial, which will begin in June, against former Officers Tou Thao and Thomas Lane. and J. Alexander Kueng or not. They are charged aiding and abetting both manslaughter and murder when the former officer Derek Chauvin using his knee to pin Floyd, a Black man, down the sidewalk for 9 and a half minutes on May 25, 2020. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his feet, and Thao held those around him.

Chief Prosecutor Matthew Frank did not disclose details of the plea offers at the public hearing but said they were identical and were made on March 22 after a jury found three people in a separate trial in February on federal civil rights charges stemming from Floyd’s death, according to reports compiled from inside the courtroom.

Lane’s attorney, Earl Grey, said it was difficult for the defense to negotiate as the three still didn’t know what their federal sentence would be. The judge in that case did not set a sentencing date, and all three remained on bail.

Cahill told Frank to submit the recording request after the jury had taken its seat for the upcoming trial, which is expected to last about eight weeks, including three weeks for the jury to choose.

Cahill took the rare step of allowing live coverage of Chauvin’s murder trial last year, making an exception to the usual rules of Minnesota courts. He cited the extenuating circumstance of needing to balance protecting participants from COVID-19 against the constitutional requirement for an open trial.

Now that the US has entered a new phase of life with the coronavirus, Cahill must decide whether to allow the same access to Thao, Lane and Kueng’s test. He did not issue a verdict during the pre-trial hearing and said he would not until after the Minnesota Judiciary Council – a panel of judges and top administrators of the court – meets on Tuesday. Thursday to discuss the issue.

Attorney Leita Walker, who represents a coalition of media organisations, including The Associated Press, urged Cahill to allow video coverage again, saying it was the most sensible way to ensure the public and media access to the trial. She said that the public must watch Chauvin’s trial, and interest remains high as both are related to Floyd’s death. The murder, captured on video, has sparked protests around the world and a nation of racial reckoning.

“The public won’t understand why they have to watch one thing after another and they won’t be able to watch this,” Walker said.

But Cahill questions Walker’s assertion that he has the authority to make another exception and that the pandemic remains an extenuating circumstance.

“COVID-19 is not a pandemic anymore and is increasingly becoming an endemic problem,” Cahill said.

Cahill noted that although he has publicly said he believes the legal presumption should allow televised trials, he pointed out that is not the rule yet. “I still swear to obey the law,” he said.

Defense attorneys say they remain opposed to audiovisual coverage of the upcoming trial, and have renewed concerns about the willingness of witnesses to testify.

Minnesota court rules generally require the consent of all parties to provide audiovisual information about trials, with fewer restrictions on surveillance. Chauvin’s trial was the first in Minnesota to be fully televised, from his jury selection to his murder conviction to his 22-and-a-half year prison sentence. People all over the world watched the live streams.

“I think streaming that test allows people here and around the world to see the insides of a system that is handling one of the most important tests of our time, ” Suki Dardarian, senior managing editor and vice president of Star Tribune of Minneapolis, which is part of the media alliance, said before the hearing.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office was initially opposed to having cameras in the courthouse for Chauvin’s trial, but now supports them for the upcoming trial of other officers.

Prosecutors wrote last week: “The Chauvin trial demonstrated the benefits of strong public access to this important case and demonstrated that the Court was able to successfully navigate the concerns that plagued the public. increased State initial opposition to audio and video reporting”. “The Court’s commendable transparency inspired the public to trust the proceedings and helped ensure calm in Minneapolis and across the country.”

Due to federal court regulations, live video was not allowed to make it to the first trial of Thao, Lane and Kueng this year, when all three were found guilty of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Nor was it allowed for Chauvin’s federal case, in which he pleaded guilty to civil rights violations. But it was allowed in the Brooklyn Center’s December state court trial before Officer Kim Potter in the death of Daunte Wright, who was killed a year ago on Monday.

An advisory committee to the Minnesota Supreme Court is considering whether to allow more coverage of video about criminal proceedings. It will be released report by July 1st.

Cahill, in a letter to the committee, said he had previously opposed cameras in criminal cases, but his experience in Chauvin’s case has changed his mind and now he believes they should be allowed presumptively, subject to the trial judge’s discretion.

Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu, who presided over Potter’s trial, told the Star Tribune in an interview that both the Potter and Chauvin trials convinced her that cameras could be present without interference. paragraph.

“I forgot they were even there,” Chu told the newspaper.

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