My sympathy is for Chauvin. He put all his eggs in the wrong basket and left the jury with an easy decision to convict on all counts. He should have taken the stand. Even if he lost he could have shown some people that he was a human being and not a monster.
He left that film on the cutting room floor. He will forever be painted as a monster.
These Hollywood people are the real monsters. They hide their sociopathy behind their pretend smiles and pretend sympathies. They care about no one but themselves and they can, as actors and actresses, put on quite a convincing show of their fake empathy. They have none.
I agree about sympathy for Chauvin. He was definitely in a no win situation.
However, the video, in my opinion, can legitimately be seen depicting negligence on his part. Whether drugs or not, people don’t want to see someone kneeling on another person’s neck, shoulders, etc. So, I’m not surprised at a charge against Chauvin.
I would have felt ok about negligent homicide, but I’m not okay with 2d degree, intentional murder. If nothing else, Chauvin showed a questionable lack of wisdom in the face of cameras recording, people addressing him, and a man on the ground whimpering.
I never thought he’d walk away from this.
And, as you say, he was the only one who knew his own state of mind, and he didn’t defend himself.