George Floyd killer Derek Chauvin appeals against 22 years conviction

Former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, convicted of the murder of African-American man George Floyd in 2020 has decided to appeal against his conviction.

Chauvin was sentenced to over 22 years in jail after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in March 2020.

His death sparked mass protests against racism and police brutality in the US and all over the world.

He was found guilty of second-degree murder and other charges, was barred from owning firearms for life and also told to register as a predatory offender.

Derek Chauvin, a white man, says there were issues with the jury at the trial and that it should not have taken place in the US state of Minneapolis, citing bias against him.

According to court documents filed on Thursday, September 23, Chauvin alleges that the trial judge abused his discretion at several key points of the case, including denying a request to postpone or move the hearing from Minneapolis due to pre-trial publicity.

Chauvin also said he had no legal representative for the appeal process as the Minnesota police department’s “obligation to pay for my representation terminated upon my conviction and sentencing”,

Chauvin then asked the US Supreme Court to review an earlier decision to deny him a publicly-financed lawyer.

Chauvin, 45, was given 90 days from the date of his sentencing on 25 June to appeal against his conviction.