I am eager to read your book -- something I rarely say! I'm a retired lawyer, civil litigator (labor lawyer) who represented police and law enforcement officers. Years before Floyd's death, I had determined that BLM was a con-job -- they had no public accounting of the millions of $$ they were receiving, unlike legit non-profits like the NAACP. I also could not understand how this was so different or worse than any of a number of excessive-force cases that I had been involved with. As you said, these things happen and there's a clear procedure to deal with these cases, so why the fuss? Then came the reporting on the drugs taken by Floyd, drugs that clearly could account for his complaints and easly cause his death. Combined with the whole woke crap -- I had been litigating labor discrimination cases for decades and suddenly people were hideously distorting our discrimination laws -- I was thoroughly disgusted.
Derek Chauvin was the sacrificial lamb. He might not have been absolutely perfect, but he acted well within the scope of his duties. I hope that his lawyers get lucky on appeal -- because sometimes luck is more important than having the stronger case -- and he gets some measure of justice.
Anatomically, there is no way Chauvin cut off Floyd's airway. Only if you're placing weight on the front of the neck can you cut off the airway. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE WITH A KNEE ON THE BACK OF THE NECK. Have someone place their full weight on back of your neck; the vertebral bones prevent any collapse of the airway.
"A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth."
Like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream. I dream of a world in which Jewish people finance Black people to make films about something other than how evil White people are.
We hear often from those in the Judicial system that they would rather see 10, or more, guilty go free than one innocent man convicted of a crime they did not commit. Apparently none of those involved in the persecution of Derek Chauvin were part of the prosecution, judge or jury as this travesty of justice put the entire system to shame.
IMO the only crime Chauvin was guilty of was the smirk while others using phones took his picture.
As this was prosecuted under MN law, the president cannot commute or pardon Mr. Chauvin. Hopefully the next Governor of MN will correct that.
T.J., I left the same comment on LI and in my restack. This is a very important matter. I want people to understand just how important impartiality and dispassionate analysis is and should be to prosecutors with respect to every case — politically charged or not.
And as a friend and former colleague, I’m eager to read this book.
As federal prosecutors, we know the number one duty of prosecuting cases is to approach each matter and each defendant dispassionately. With no assumptions, agendas, or political motivations.
I have long held doubts and suspicions about how this matter was approached, and those suspicions intensified when I attended a Civil Rights Prosecution Seminar at the National Advocacy Center.
Much of the seminar centered on this very case, and the speakers mainly consisted of various prosecutors in Minnesota and D.C. I was shocked at the cavalier attitude toward a host of weighty factors related to the investigation and prosecutorial discretion and the questionable ethics reflected in that process.
In my career, I was called both a “Nazi right wing thug from the Bush Justice Department” and a “Bleeding heart left wing animal rights activist from the Obama Justice Department.”
That always suggested to me I was doing it right.
Each case. Each defendant. Process based on evidence and layered proof that leads to sound prosecutorial decision-making free from political influence.
That’s the job, regardless of what the public thinks.
I really hope that your research and reasoning will help build a truth narrative that cannot be ignored by the press. This will have to happen before any retrial or pardon can undo the injustice of Chauvin’s conviction.
Wish I could say I'm surprised. Encouraging though! Everywhere I turn I see evidence that America hasn't gone totally to crap. But much of America's leadership has... which can be changed over time if we set our minds to it.
Dr. Dunn, There are several statements above that I think you made based upon a misunderstanding of the facts. I direct your attention to the autopsy one more time. There, Dr. Baker clearly notes that Floyd's "right and left lungs weigh 1085 and 1015 grams, respectively." Then, in the same paragraph, he writes "the pulmonary parenchyma is diffusely congested and edematous." Internal memos from the prosecutor, testimony at the state trial, and testimony at the federal trial confirmed that Floyd's lungs were edematous and 2-3x larger than a healthy pair of lungs, adjusting for a man of Floyd's size. Whether this edema was attributable to fentanyl ingestion was a separate question. It could have been. If so, would explain the inability of Floyd to exchange CO2 and Oxygen in the alveolar sacs and, thus, his difficulty breathing. Alternative, the fluid could have come from the LUCAS compression device used on Floyd in the back of the ambulance. But, it is a fact that Floyd's lungs were very heavy. Each one was more than a kilogram, for a combined weight in excess of 2 kilograms. It appears from your statement above that you may be of the mistaken assumption that the COMBINED weight of Floyd's lungs was just over 1 kg. If so, that may be the source of the confusion.
Thank you for all you’ve done here, sir! 🫡
I am eager to read your book -- something I rarely say! I'm a retired lawyer, civil litigator (labor lawyer) who represented police and law enforcement officers. Years before Floyd's death, I had determined that BLM was a con-job -- they had no public accounting of the millions of $$ they were receiving, unlike legit non-profits like the NAACP. I also could not understand how this was so different or worse than any of a number of excessive-force cases that I had been involved with. As you said, these things happen and there's a clear procedure to deal with these cases, so why the fuss? Then came the reporting on the drugs taken by Floyd, drugs that clearly could account for his complaints and easly cause his death. Combined with the whole woke crap -- I had been litigating labor discrimination cases for decades and suddenly people were hideously distorting our discrimination laws -- I was thoroughly disgusted.
Derek Chauvin was the sacrificial lamb. He might not have been absolutely perfect, but he acted well within the scope of his duties. I hope that his lawyers get lucky on appeal -- because sometimes luck is more important than having the stronger case -- and he gets some measure of justice.
Thank you, Leslie. It sounds like your instincts were spot on and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book given your obvious attention to detail.
Anatomically, there is no way Chauvin cut off Floyd's airway. Only if you're placing weight on the front of the neck can you cut off the airway. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE WITH A KNEE ON THE BACK OF THE NECK. Have someone place their full weight on back of your neck; the vertebral bones prevent any collapse of the airway.
"A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth."
Like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream. I dream of a world in which Jewish people finance Black people to make films about something other than how evil White people are.
We hear often from those in the Judicial system that they would rather see 10, or more, guilty go free than one innocent man convicted of a crime they did not commit. Apparently none of those involved in the persecution of Derek Chauvin were part of the prosecution, judge or jury as this travesty of justice put the entire system to shame.
IMO the only crime Chauvin was guilty of was the smirk while others using phones took his picture.
As this was prosecuted under MN law, the president cannot commute or pardon Mr. Chauvin. Hopefully the next Governor of MN will correct that.
T.J., I left the same comment on LI and in my restack. This is a very important matter. I want people to understand just how important impartiality and dispassionate analysis is and should be to prosecutors with respect to every case — politically charged or not.
And as a friend and former colleague, I’m eager to read this book.
As federal prosecutors, we know the number one duty of prosecuting cases is to approach each matter and each defendant dispassionately. With no assumptions, agendas, or political motivations.
I have long held doubts and suspicions about how this matter was approached, and those suspicions intensified when I attended a Civil Rights Prosecution Seminar at the National Advocacy Center.
Much of the seminar centered on this very case, and the speakers mainly consisted of various prosecutors in Minnesota and D.C. I was shocked at the cavalier attitude toward a host of weighty factors related to the investigation and prosecutorial discretion and the questionable ethics reflected in that process.
In my career, I was called both a “Nazi right wing thug from the Bush Justice Department” and a “Bleeding heart left wing animal rights activist from the Obama Justice Department.”
That always suggested to me I was doing it right.
Each case. Each defendant. Process based on evidence and layered proof that leads to sound prosecutorial decision-making free from political influence.
That’s the job, regardless of what the public thinks.
I really hope that your research and reasoning will help build a truth narrative that cannot be ignored by the press. This will have to happen before any retrial or pardon can undo the injustice of Chauvin’s conviction.
Thanks for the research, friend! My book is ordered and I'm anxious to read your work.
Fantastic, thanks Harvey. The story is incredible and the facts are damning for the prosecution.
Wish I could say I'm surprised. Encouraging though! Everywhere I turn I see evidence that America hasn't gone totally to crap. But much of America's leadership has... which can be changed over time if we set our minds to it.
Dr. Dunn, There are several statements above that I think you made based upon a misunderstanding of the facts. I direct your attention to the autopsy one more time. There, Dr. Baker clearly notes that Floyd's "right and left lungs weigh 1085 and 1015 grams, respectively." Then, in the same paragraph, he writes "the pulmonary parenchyma is diffusely congested and edematous." Internal memos from the prosecutor, testimony at the state trial, and testimony at the federal trial confirmed that Floyd's lungs were edematous and 2-3x larger than a healthy pair of lungs, adjusting for a man of Floyd's size. Whether this edema was attributable to fentanyl ingestion was a separate question. It could have been. If so, would explain the inability of Floyd to exchange CO2 and Oxygen in the alveolar sacs and, thus, his difficulty breathing. Alternative, the fluid could have come from the LUCAS compression device used on Floyd in the back of the ambulance. But, it is a fact that Floyd's lungs were very heavy. Each one was more than a kilogram, for a combined weight in excess of 2 kilograms. It appears from your statement above that you may be of the mistaken assumption that the COMBINED weight of Floyd's lungs was just over 1 kg. If so, that may be the source of the confusion.