Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin has been declared guilty by the jury on Tuesday for all three counts of murder of George Floyd.
CBN News reported that Chauvin has been charged guilty for felony murder to second degree manslaughter for his culpable negligence that led to the death of Floyd. Chauvin pinned down Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, on the neck for 9.5 minutes.
As per CBN News, the jury--a mix of five men and seven women with six white and four black--took two days of deliberating for 10 hours to arrive at the verdict. The prosecution stressed Floyd posed no threat to the officers on the scene. While the defense focused the issue on Floyd's cause of death be seen in the context of drugs and heart disease and not what Chauvin did.
Many applauded the verdict, taking it as sign of justice rendered and renewed hope in America. The NPR reported that "scenes of joy and relief erupted across the country" after the jury declared Chauvin guilty. While CNN run a gallery of photos that show people from across America in tears while rejoicing.
"It's a new day in America. I was really worried, I was worried about my city. Thank God my city will not burn tonight. Finally, some little piece of justice," remarked B.J. Wilder, one of the people gathered a the George Floyd Square waiting for the verdict to be delivered, in an interview with NPR.
While the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference said in its statement that the jury's decision shows how far Americans "have to go on" the "long march toward justice". NHCLC, through its President Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, expressed hopes that the "ultimate solution" may come for both Republicans and Democrats towards the "understanding and love of one's neighbor whatever the color of their skin".
"Today's decision has demonstrated yet again how far we have to go on our long march toward justice. The wounds of our past continue to bleed into our present reality and the tensions in American life--revealed by this terrible tragedy--have remind us that there will probably be another George Floyd and another Derek Chauvin," Rodriguez said.
Similarly, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement on the matter through Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development Chairman Archbishop Paul Coakley and Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism Chairman Bishop Shelton Fabre. The bishops stressed the "deep need to see the sacredness in all people" and the "urgent need for racial healing and reconciliation" in the country.
"Today, a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd. As we receive this result, we recall that God is the source of all justice, love, and mercy. The death of George Floyd highlighted and amplified the deep need to see the sacredness in all people, but especially those who have been historically oppressed. Whatever the stage of human life, it not only matters, it is sacred. The events following George Floyd's death also highlighted the urgent need for racial healing and reconciliation," the USCCB said.
The Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission through its President Russell Moore, on the other hand, expressed gratitude through his Twitter account for the decision that signified a "new era" for America.
"Grateful for justice rendered in Minneapolis. Let's remember today the family of George Floyd. And let's work together for a new era of racial justice and American hope," Moore said.
The case has actually brought a string of riots in the cities of Minnesota and across the country, as per CBN News. This was on top of the controversy added to it by California Representative Maxine Waters for inciting violence should the jury not declare Chauvin guilty.
CBN News highlighted that despite inciting violence, Democrats sided with Waters by rejecting an attempt to censure her and cited a tweet of Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise taking to Twitter his disappointment for it.
"BREAKING→Every single House Democrat just voted to stand with Maxine Waters. They made it clear: Democrats are fine with Democrat politicians inciting violence and chaos," Scalise tweeted on Tuesday.
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz hit Waters, saying she used the "playbook of the Ku Klux Klan" to influence the result of the trial, the Washington Examiner reported.
"The irony of what congresswoman Waters did. She borrowed the playbook of the Ku Klux Klan from the 1920s and 1930s. They would stand outside of courtrooms, and they would threaten violence," he explained.
"What she did was disgraceful," he said.
