At a hearing on Monday, Nelson said he was “gravely concerned” about the announcement, calling it “incredibly damaging”.
“It’s incredible to me, they gave a press conference on Friday, where the mayor of Minneapolis, on stage with the city council, and they are using very, I would say, very well designed terminology. ‘The unanimous decision of the city council “, for example. This goes right to the heart of the dangers of pre-trial advertising,” said Nelson.
The defense said a delay in the trial or further interrogation by the jurors would be among the appropriate remedies.
The prosecution acknowledged that the timing of the deal was “unfortunate” but backed off against the remedies proposed by the defense.
“It’s a shame, and I wish they hadn’t done that, but I don’t feel any evil intentions at the moment,” said Cahill.
The consequences of that deal were made clear by the first juror questioned on Monday. The judge told the judge that she “almost choked” when she heard about the $ 27 million deal and said she could not be fair to Chauvin. She was excused from the jury for cause.
The request came during the second week of jury selection at the trial of Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s final moments, videotaped, led to widespread protests against the police brutality and racism under the Black Lives Matter banner, as well as incidents of unrest and looting.
Chauvin pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and wrongful death charges. He also pleaded not guilty to third-degree murder, an indictment that was reinstated in the case on Thursday.
Selection of the jury in the case began on March 9, and seven jurors were sitting on the case on Monday morning. A total of fourteen jurors are required, including two alternates.
Of the seven jurors selected so far, four are white, one is black, one is Hispanic and one is of mixed race, according to how the court says they identified themselves in the jury’s research. Five of the judges are men and two are women.
The testimony is scheduled to begin at the trial no earlier than March 29.