Court records and official announcements regarding Derek Chauvin's federal civil rights conviction

Federal Judge Allows Derek Chauvin to Test Floyd's Autopsy Samples for Heart Condition Theory

Dec 16, 2024, 10:38 PM

A federal judge has granted Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020, permission to examine heart tissue and fluid samples from Floyd's autopsy as part of his appeal. Chauvin's legal team argues that Floyd's death was due to a heart condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, rather than Chauvin's actions. This ruling by US District Judge Paul Magnuson allows Chauvin's attorneys to test evidence from histology slides and tissue samples, potentially supporting their claim of ineffective assistance of counsel by his original defense attorney, Eric Nelson, who they say failed to follow up on Dr. William Schaetzel's assessment that Chauvin was not to blame for Floyd's death. The appeal focuses on Chauvin's federal civil rights conviction, leaving his state conviction intact. Floyd's last words, 'I can't breathe,' became a rallying cry for a civil rights movement, and Chauvin's actions, kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, were deemed lethal by officials.