AG Bill Barr Reportedly Nixed Third-Degree Murder Guilty Plea by Police Officer Who Knelt on...

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Source: Mediaite


AG Bill Barr Reportedly Nixed Third-Degree Murder Guilty Plea by Police Officer Who Knelt on George Floyd’s Neck

By Reed Richardson Feb 10th, 2021, 11:30 pm

Attorney General Bill Barr rejected at the last minute a guilty plea deal from Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, citing fears that it would spread further unrest if deemed too lenient

According to a new report from the New York Times, Chauvin had agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder — with a likely sentence of more than 10 years — just three days after Floyd’s death. Chauvin, who is white, was captured on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck during an arrest for nearly nine minutes, a bombshell moment that sparked worldwide Black Lives Matter protests of police violence and racial inequality.

In exchange for the swift resolution of the case, he wanted a guarantee that he would not face federal charges of civil rights violations. The plea was all but a done deal, and local officials had even scheduled a press conference to announce it, when Barr refused to comply with Chauvin’s request.

An official said Mr. Barr worried that a plea deal, so early in the process and before a full investigation had concluded, would be perceived as too lenient by the growing number of protesters across America. At the same time, Mr. Barr wanted to allow state officials, who were about to take over the case from the county prosecutor who has had tense relations with Minneapolis’s Black community, to make their own decisions about how to proceed.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/crime/ag-bill-barr-reportedly-nixed-third-degree-murder-guilty-plea-by-police-officer-who-knelt-on-george-floyds-neck/