Chauvin attorneys seek to overturn conviction in George Floyd’s death – National & International News – WED 27Apr2022

Chauvin seeks to overturn conviction in George Floyd’s death. Poll: Nearly 2/3rds have cut back household spending. Russia cuts off gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria.

NATIONAL NEWS

Chauvin attorneys seek to overturn conviction in George Floyd’s death

Attorneys representing former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin are seeking to overturn his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. Floyd’s 2020 death after Chauvin knelt on his neck for 9 minutes revived the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked nationwide protests. Last year, a jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin received a 22 1/2-year sentence.

Chauvin’s attorneys now argue that the politically and emotionally-charged atmosphere in the city denied their client a fair trial. The attorneys are asking the court to do one of three things: reverse Chauvin’s conviction; grant him a new trial in a different venue; or refer the case to a lower court for resentencing.

Policing and politics

At the time, many saw Chauvin’s conviction and sentence as both as a vindication of long-standing grievances of the Minneapolis black community regarding police brutality and discrimination, and as a turning point in the fight against it. However, the political winds have since shifted.

State Attorney General Keith Ellison, once lauded for his aggressive prosecution of Chauvin, has since come under fire from the state’s conservative-leaning power brokers. Ellison is up for re-election this year and now seems to be softening his stance on police misconduct and reform.

This year, Ellison signed off on a lenient 16-month sentence for Kim Potter, another former Minneapolis-area police officer. Potter accidentally killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, during a traffic stop. Ellison also defended the decision to file no criminal charges in the death of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old black man. Locke was asleep on a couch in a Minneapolis apartment when officers executing a no-knock warrant stormed in looking for Locke’s cousin. Startled, Locke reached for a weapon to defend himself and was killed. Locke’s family have called his death “an execution”.

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

Inflation poll: Nearly 2/3rds of voters have cut back household spending

A new poll finds that 65% of voters have had to reduce household expenditures in order to afford gas. Similarly 63% say they have cut back due to grocery prices. Meanwhile, 37% have cut back on other expenses to pay their utility bill.

Rising housing prices are also forcing Americans to tighten their belts. Nearly half of renters (48%) say they’ve had difficulties keeping up with rent. One-third (34%) of homeowners with mortgages also report having trouble keeping up with payments.

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

Related: Many forecasters believe a recession is coming (4-minute listen)

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russia cuts off gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria

The Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom has announced it will no longer supply gas to Poland and Bulgaria. The leadership of both countries recently announced new sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. EU leaders have accused the Kremlin of “blackmail” and said that this underscores the necessity of reducing the continent’s dependency on Russia for its energy needs.

Despite sanctions on nearly every other form of state commerce with Russia, Europe continues to buy around $1 billion in Russian oil and gas every day. Analysts have said that if that funding were to cease, the war would be over very quickly. EU leaders have vowed to gradually reduce their dependency on Russian gas in the coming years and are seeking alternative sources. 

Russia has demanded that “unfriendly” countries purchase their gas in Russian rubles rather than US dollars. The Kremlin sees this as an important step to keep their ailing currency afloat. So far, Hungary is the only European country that has agreed to pay in rubles. Poland and Bulgaria also have relatively low-volume gas orders, meaning that Putin can make a point without suffering a huge loss. Moscow also sees Poland and Bulgaria as weak links in the Western alliance against it and hopes to stoke divisions.

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

Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!