Not that I give Ellison any credit for having Brain #1, but his elevation of charges from murder 3 to murder 2 seems pretty dumb. Especially since he has no idea what the totality of evidence is going to be yet. I looked at the Minnesota statute, and the relevant part of the charge is this:
“causes the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of that person or another, but without premeditation”
So now, he has to prove “intent”, in contrast to 3rd degree murder which is causing death without intent. I guess we’ll see how good a lawyer he is (i.e. can hire) or how easily the jury can be bought if the evidence turns out to be not as clear-cut as many think.
I speed-watched this video by a doctor who make no bones about the fact that he thinks the cops killed George Floyd. But his explanation of the anatomy and how cause of death is determined is objective and informative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oqEp63duIc
But the real reason I post the link is relevant to these elevated charges. Even Dr. Baden said “police are under the impression that if you can talk, you are able to breathe”. Which the doctor argues with, but the point is, if the cops claim that’s what they thought, and that’s what they were trained to treat as factually correct, then how can you prove “intent” when they continued to restrain a man who was able to talk? (At least for some of the time).
Well if we actually get a fair trial, proving Chauvin’s intent would lead to discovery, which would be a good thing. The DS doesn’t really want Chauvin’s motive to be revealed. I suspect Chauvin will be killed before he ever goes to trial - unless the white hats take control.
“ Not that I give Ellison any credit for having Brain #1, but his elevation of charges from murder 3 to murder 2 seems pretty dumb. Especially since he has no idea what the totality of evidence is going to be yet.”
I’m from a Minneapolis suburb. Local news explained that the charge had to be elevated to murder 2 or else they couldn’t arrest the 3 other officers. The danger is They could all be acquitted in time and this mess starts all over.
Ellison is already saying it’s hard to convict a cop. I’m not sure he wants to or if he wants more chaos.