Chauvin defense team attempts to put George Floyd's drug addiction on the stand

[DonViejo]

Toluse Olorunnipa 6 hrs ago

Time and again throughout the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, defense attorney Eric Nelson has found ways to bring up George Floyd’s drug use.

He has repeatedly highlighted the toxic mix of substances found in Floyd’s system, floated the possibility that Floyd may have ingested drugs rectally and asked expert witnesses whether the handcuffed man’s inability to breathe in his final moments may have resulted from an overdose.

As Nelson is set Tuesday to begin his formal defense of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with Floyd’s killing, he is expected to focus heavily on the deceased man’s drug addiction — a complex and delicate task that legal scholars say is fraught with risk, in part because Americans’ attitudes about drug use have shifted significantly in recent years.

Attempting to justify the officer’s use of deadly force as a legitimate response to an intoxicated and potentially dangerous suspect could instead be seen as an effort to demonize Floyd, whose death sparked a global reckoning over racial injustice, inequality and police brutality.

more/NO PAYWALL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/chauvin-defense-team-attempts-to-put-george-floyd-s-drug-addiction-on-the-stand/ar-BB1fBk3J

[mucifer]

1. So the death sentence with no trial for Black men with addictions who pass a fake $20?

That's their defense? Wow.

[multigraincracker]

2. I would like to see the result of the blood test on the killer, right after the murder.

Seems strange to me to only test the victim and not the killer.

As a condition of employment, every cop use of force, from drawing their weapon to any type of physical force, be require to pee in a cup. Test for legal, illegal and prescription drugs.

[Jim__]

3. The prosecution did an excellent job of debunking the claim that Floyd died from an overdose.

Multiple medical experts testified that death from a fentanyl overdose looks very different from George Floyd's death.

[MoonRiver]

4. And they failed. nuff said

[Hoyt]

5. It's all they have.

[llashram]

6. always a defense

in murder cases such as this. Besmirch the character and race of the victim and then acquittal. No matter in a majority of cases since Trayvon Martin, unarmed and/or innocent.