Federal prosecutors in Minnesota are urging a judge to review his decision allowing former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to re-examine George Floyd's heart as part of an appeal following his conviction for violating Floyd's civil rights.
United States District Court Judge Paul Magnuson recently granted Chauvin's legal team access to Floyd's heart tissue, histology slides, photographs, and bodily fluid samples to explore the possibility that Floyd's death may have been due to a heart condition rather than Chauvin's actions.
In a motion filed by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, they argued that Chauvin's discovery requests lacked a legal basis and were solely based on an email from an unverified doctor proposing an alternative medical defense.
The prosecutors also contested Chauvin's claim of ineffective counsel during his trial, asserting that the decision not to examine Floyd's heart was a strategic move recognized by courts as nearly unchallengeable.
Despite objections, Judge Magnuson ruled that the evidence could assist Chauvin's defense in investigating information provided by Dr. William Schaetzel, who suggested Floyd died from a specific heart condition.
Chauvin's new legal team alleged that his previous attorney did not inform him of the doctor's theory, leading to no testing being conducted to validate it.
Legal experts noted that Chauvin's defense is entitled to the materials, regardless of their impact on his appeal outcome.
Chauvin, who was also convicted on state murder charges related to Floyd's death in 2020, faced a violent attack in federal prison following his conviction, reportedly linked to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin was one of the officers involved in Floyd's arrest after an alleged counterfeit money incident, which escalated into a fatal encounter captured on video.
Despite a previous rejection of his appeal on state murder charges by the Supreme Court, Chauvin continues to pursue legal avenues to challenge his convictions.
