Quote (Surfpunk @ 7 Apr 2021 07:13)
To a certain point, Floyd is on trial. Not the man, but his manner of death. If the defense can leave the Jury with any doubt that maybe Floyd died of a drug overdose, as opposed to chest compression and/or asphyxiation due to police treatment, then an acquittal is entirely possible. Likewise, the reason Morries Lester Hall has clammed up and stated he'd plead the 5th is because if Chauvin DOES walk (and even if he doesn't), then the State has the option to attack the "death by overdose" angle and Charge Hall with 3rd degree murder for selling Floyd the drugs he overdosed on.
The testimony by Courteney Ross (Floyd's girlfriend) was devastating, and the direct reason Hall refused to testify. He was supposed to be a star witness for the Prosecution. Now, he's vowing to plead the fifth to avoid self-incrimination for a potential third degree murder charge.
Edit: Note that according to the Coroner's report, Chauvin DID have overdose levels of fentanyl in his blood, most especially when combined with the methamphetamine levels. He quite literally did overdose. The "reasonable doubt" defense is the question of whether the overdose caused the arrest, or the police restraint. However, the suspicion currently occurring is that due to the OD levels of drugs, the state may already be planning on a Murder 3 charge. Once again, the Prosecution, which is literally the State, has the ability to offer immunity to Hall in exchange for his testimony. Why have they not made that offer?
This post was edited by InsaneBobb on Apr 7 2021 09:28am