Joe Biden spoke of George Floyd’s death trial: “I pray the decision is right.”

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for the verdict to be “correct” in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of the murder of George Floyd, calling the evidence “overwhelming”.

“I pray the verdict is correct. The tests, in my opinion, are overwhelming”Biden told reporters. In addition, he clarified that he only spoke openly because the jury was isolated in a hotel and is in solitary confinement during their deliberations.

Biden also said he spoke with the family of Floyd, whose death in May 2020 has traveled the world thanks to a video showing Chauvin pressing his neck with his knee for more than 9 minutes. The president added that he could not even “imagine the pressure and anxiety felt” by those close to Floyd, and stressed that they “demand peace and quiet, whatever the verdict”.

The commotion outside the courtroom is palpable in the streets of Minneapolis, besieged by the presence of thousands of US National Guard and other security forces, awaiting the outcome. The final part of this trial comes amid growing tension in the country following the police shooting deaths of African American Daunte Wright, 20, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and Adam Toledo, 13, in Chicago, both occurred in Chicago. these last weeks.

On Monday, the Minnesota state attorney’s office and Chauvin’s defense presented their final arguments for about four hours before the jury, which will now have to debate the case and reach a unanimous verdict. After listening to the arguments from both sides and the instructions the judge gave them for their deliberation, the jury members, six whites and six blacks or other races, isolated themselves and locked themselves in a hotel to review everything. evidence presented at trial and reach a sentence.

Judge Peter Cahill reminded jurors of the necessary unanimity of his verdict and asked them to base it solely on the evidence presented at trial. “They have to be absolutely fair,” Cahill told them.

The jury deliberates on the guilt or not of Chauvin three charges he faces: second degree murder, punishable by up to 40 years in prison; third degree murder, with a maximum sentence of 25 years; and second degree manslaughter, which results in up to 10 years of deprivation of liberty. However, since he has no criminal record, could only be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years and a half in prison for the first two counts and 4 years in prison for the third.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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