[jeffersondem]

“Unfortunately I just heard that he was arrested for only third degree murder and manslaughter.”

Do you have private information that suggests it should be a higher charge. If so, please share.

[KarlInOhio]

No further information. Just that kneeling on Floyd wasn't an instantaneous action - he did it for nearly ten minutes. If he knelt on Floyd's neck and his spine instantly snapped and killed him then there might be no premeditation. But continuing to kneel for that long showed premeditation and intention to either cripple or kill Floyd. That looks like first degree murder.

I heard a lawyer say that premeditation doesn't take a certain amount of time. You can decide to kill and do it in the same minute and that's enough for first degree murder. It's harder to prove without other actions to prove premeditation like buying a gun, but it still can be first degree. Eight minutes of kneeling is more than enough to show a planned intention to kill.