Closing arguments today in Floyd murder trial – National & International News – MON 19Apr2021

Closing arguments in Floyd murder trial today. Poll: 63% want to end lifetime SCOTUS seats. Russia moves Navalny to sick ward. Brazil demands foreign aid to protect rainforest.

NATIONAL NEWS

Closing arguments in Floyd murder trial today

Closing arguments will begin today in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd. Charges against Chauvin include 2nd and 3rd degree murder and manslaughter. Each side will attempt to boil down three weeks’ worth of arguments to sum up their case for jurors.

Summing up

Since the trial began, the prosecution has brought multiple witness, including some of Chauvin’s former colleagues and the chief of police, to testify that Chauvin’s actions in kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly ten minutes was in no way consistent with department protocol or training. Medical experts also testified that Floyd’s cause of death was asphyxiation as a result of police restraint. The county coroner listed Floyd’s fentanyl and methamphetamine use as “significant” but not as cause of death.

The defense has called just 7 witnesses, including one use-of-force expert and one medical expert. The use-of-force expert Barry Brodd raised many eyebrow by first contending that keeping a suspect prone with their hands behind their back was “safe”. Prosecutors then forced Brodd to admit under cross-examination that law enforcement is well aware of the danger of positional asphyxiation resulting from this restraint. Brodd also stated that if a suspect can say “I can’t breathe”, then they probably can breathe. This notion has been widely debunked by medical experts since the 2014 death of Eric Garner under police restraint in New York.

The defense’s only medical expert witness, Dr. David Fowler, testified that he would have ruled Floyd’s cause of death as indeterminant. Fowler cited Floyd’s drug use and a weak heart as contributing factors. It now comes to light that Fowler, a former chief medical examiner in Maryland, is being sued by the family of Anton Black. Black died in 2018 at age 19 under similar circumstances to Floyd. No one was charged in that incident. Black’s family accuses Fowler and others of intentionally covering for police by ignoring evidence of asphyxiation and selectively emphasizing other factors that supported the police narrative.

Grounds for appeal

Even before the jury weighs in on Chauvin’s fate, legal experts have cited numerous grounds for appeal should the jury convict him. These include a $27 million settlement awarded to Floyd’s family just as jury selection was getting underway. The judge’s refusal to sequester the jury after the recent killing of Daunte Wright could also come into play. Others have cited the “lackluster performance” of Chauvin’s own defense in calling just 7 witnesses, including two flawed “expert” witnesses.

Click here for live updates (opens in new tab).

Poll: Most Americans want to end lifetime SCOTUS appointments

In light of recent proposals for reforms to the Supreme Court, Reuters polled over 1000 US adults to identify the level of popular support for the proposals, and what level of trust Americans have in the institution. The results show that 63% of Americans think it’s time to end lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices, supporting either term or age limits for justices. Only 22% opposed ending lifetime appointments and the rest had no opinion.

However, other proposals, such as expanding the number of justices, are less popular. Only 38% of respondents support the idea of adding four more seats to the court, while 42% opposed it and the rest were not sure.

The poll also found that only 49% of respondents had a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in decisions made by Supreme Court. While this is less than a majority, the court still fairs better than the top institutions of the other two branches of government. Only 43% have a similar level of confidence in decisions made by the White House, while 32% expressed similar feelings about Congress.

The poll has a 4% margin of error.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russia moves Navalny to prison hospital

Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who’s serving a 2-and-a-half-year prison term for probation violations, has been moved to a prison hospital. Navalny famously survived Novichok poisoning by Russian agents last year. He was then jailed upon his return for Russia for failing to appear in court on a fraud charge. The court appearance Navalny missed took place while he was still recovering in a hospital in Berlin.

Since his sentencing, Navalny has been in one of Russia’s toughest penal colonies, about 60 km outside Moscow. He has since suffered with his back, even losing sensation in some of his extremities. Three weeks ago, Navalny embarked on a hunger strike to demand proper medical care. Prison authorities have now transferred him to a prison hospital at another facility. They may begin force feeding him through a tube as authorities recently threatened.

Another possibility is that Navalny may have contracted tuberculosis. Other inmates in the prison have recently been diagnosed with the condition, and Navalny’s supporters say his sick ward specializes in treating critical cases of the disease. Navalny had recently suffered from a cough and a high temperature.

Supporters of Navalny have called for nationwide protests over his deteriorating health and the harsh conditions of his incarceration. In response, Russian police have issued a warning against any such action. The US has warned Russian authorities of consequences should Navalny die under their care.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Brazil demands foreign aid in exchange for protecting rainforest

Climate scientists have long recognized the importance the Amazonian rainforest in regulating global carbon dioxide levels, calling it “the lungs of the planet”. In the three years since Jair Bolsonaro came to power in Brazil, which owns about 60% of the rainforest, activists and world leaders have despaired of his stewardship of the precious resource. Bolsonaro has encouraged both mining and agricultural clearance of the rainforest, in part to fuel the country’s exports of beef products and soybeans. Add to that Bolsonaro’s failure to curb illegal deforestation and the rate of destruction to the worst seen in 12 years.

Brazil’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles says the country needs $10 billion a year in foreign aid to reach “zero emissions” by 2050. Of this, $1 billion would be spent to reduce illegal deforestation, with the goal of eliminating it by 2030. A third of the money would go to hiring more environmental agents. The rest would be used for investment in “sustainable development” of the Amazon.

Salles’ statement comes as Bolsonaro attempts to negotiate a deal with the US for foreign aid in exchange for protecting the rainforest.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).