Attorneys representing Derek Chauvin received permission Monday to test heart tissue from George Floyd as the former Minneapolis police officer seeks to challenge his conviction on federal civil rights charges.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson approved a request from Chauvin’s legal team filed last week to access Floyd’s heart tissue and fluid samples, according to a report from The Associated Press.
“Given the significant nature of the criminal case that Mr. Chauvin was convicted of, and given that the discovery that Mr. Chauvin seeks could support Dr. Schaetzel’s opinion of how Mr. Floyd died, the Court finds that there is good cause to allow Mr. Chauvin to take the discovery that he seeks,” Magnuson wrote in his order, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Attorneys can therefore take discovery of histology slides, tissue samples, tissue blocks, and sections of autopsy tissue slides with respect to his heart.
They are also permitted to make copies of pictures taken of Floyd’s heart.
Chauvin is attempting to overturn his conviction by contending that Eric Nelson, his original defense attorney, failed to obtain evidence related to heart tissue samples from Floyd.
The former police officer asserts that Dr. William Schaetzel, a forensic pathologist based in Topeka, Kan., informed Nelson of potential evidence that Floyd had a condition known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, but that Nelson neglected to pursue that evidence.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as broken-heart syndrome, can occur “when a person experiences severe emotional or physical stress,” according to Harvard Health Publishing.
Chauvin asked last year for a new trial after the throwing out of his conviction or a new evidentiary hearing to examine the findings with respect to Floyd’s heart.
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Floyd passed away with an extremely elevated level of fentanyl in his body, according to an autopsy.
He could have died from an overdose rather than asphyxiation.
Chauvin was filmed placing his knee on Floyd’s neck during an arrest attempt in May 2020 before his death.
Magnuson sentenced Chauvin to over 20 years in federal prison on civil rights charges.
He was also convicted on state murder charges in 2021.
Chauvin is now being represented by Robert Meyers, an assistant federal defender in Minneapolis.
The death of Floyd drew immediate nationwide attention and sparked a controversial social justice movement.
Protests over the incident spread across several major cities, with some demonstrations becoming riots that resulted in significant property damage.
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