American Thinker by Thomas Lifson 3/13/2021
In what is claimed to be “the largest pretrial settlement in a civil rights wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. history,†the far left Minneapolis City Council has voted 13-to-0 to pay $27 million to the family of George Floyd. This happened as a jury is being seated in the criminal trial of Derek Chauvin, accused of third-degree murder, second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. Floyd died of a drug overdose, according to the coroner, after Chauvin subdued him using a knee on his neck, as he was trained to do, when Floyd resisted arrest for passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
It is hard to see this massive payout to the family of a career criminal who resisted arrest and died of a drug overdose as anything other than an attempt by the progressives on the council to influence to the jury to convict Chauvin. Paul Mirengoff also sees it that way:
Given its timing, the announcement looks to me like an attempt to prevent Chauvin from getting a fair trial, assuming there was ever any chance of him getting one in Minneapolis. But even if I’m wrong in saying that this is the city’s motive, it is almost certainly the effect of its announcement.
Even the Washington Post, as Mirengoff observes, is troubled by the effect on the ability of Chauvin to receive a fair trial:
The settlement could have implications for the ongoing criminal trial of Derek Chauvin. . . .As jury selection began this week, Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, sought to block mention of any possible payout by the city to the Floyd family, arguing it would be prejudicial. . . .
More:
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/03/minneapolis_city_council_agrees_to_pay_27_million_to_family_of_george_floyd.html
