Monday, June 01, 2020

Cut and Dried. Autopsy Results on George Floyd Point to One Cause, Homicide by Asphyxiation.


America's most famous pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, has no doubt how George Floyd died. Homicide. He was executed. The ambulance that carried him away was his hearse.
Sustained pressure on the right side of Mr. Floyd’s carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe. The independent examiners found that weight on the back, handcuffs and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability of Mr. Floyd’s diaphragm to function.
No contributing factors.
“What we found is consistent with what people saw. There is no other health issue that could cause or contribute to the death,” Dr. Baden said in a press release. “Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true.” He said in the news conference that Floyd didn’t have an underlying medical condition that contributed to his death, saying he was in “good health.” 
For George Floyd, the ambulance was his hearse. Beyond question, he would be alive today if not for the pressure applied to his neck by fired officer Derek Chauvin and the strain on his body from two additional officers kneeling on him,” said Crump in a news conference. “George was living, breathing, talking until we see these officers restrain him while he’s facedown in handcuffs with Officer Chauvin having his knee lodged into his neck for more than 8 minutes.. and the other officers having both of his knees lodged into his back.” He called the violence in the streets unacceptable.
Ruling out the official excuses.
The criminal complaint describes preliminary findings but says the full report is not yet completed. The complaint filed by the Hennepin County Attorney, Mike Freeman, also says Floyd did not die of “traumatic asphyxiation or strangulation.” Furthermore, it refers to Floyd having “potential” intoxicants in his system as a contributor to his death, indicating that’s not yet known for certain, despite it being cited as a contributing factor.
Rejecting the official line.
Baden has conducted high-profile autopsies for families before; most recently, he examined the body of Jeffrey Epstein, saying he found indicates of homicide, not suicide.
Debunking the contentions of state officials is critical to closing the door on "reasonable doubt" defences.
For any homicide charge, the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant caused the victim’s death; that is, that the victim would not have died at that point but for the defendant’s actions. That’s easiest when the defendant’s actions were the only thing that caused the victim’s death, but it is enough if the defendant just contributed to the victim’s death. The defense will seek to raise a reasonable doubt about the cause of death, probably by arguing that Mr. Floyd would have died anyway even if the officers had done everything correctly. Second, the complaint has to allege and the prosecution has to prove the other elements of the offense. Under Minnesota law, third degree murder applies when the defendant ‘without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life.’ The prosecution has to establish that 1) what Derek Chauvin was doing was eminently dangerous to others, and 2) that he evinced a depraved mind and disregard for human life. I didn’t see much of anything in the complaint on those points, and you can bet that the defense will argue that 1) what the officers were doing wasn’t ’eminently dangerous’ and, 2) even if it was, Derek Chauvin was doing what he thought was right.


7 comments:

Lorne said...

Funny, isn't it, how, whenever a black person dies at the hands of police, there is often a reference to drugs or intoxicants being found. When Dallas cop Amber Guyer shot and killed a black man in his own apartment, thinking it was her abode, about a day later news circulated that a small amount of marijuana was found in his possession.

Guess he deserved to die, eh?

The Disaffected Lib said...


A significant portion of the American people are attuned to think that way, Lorne.

Anonymous said...

The look on Chauvin's face as he knelt on Floyd's neck was haunting for me. He looked as though he was having a particularly good defecation.

They say Chauvin is on suicide watch. Awww. Chee. Really? I bet he is. Probably from disbelief that he's been charged and not because he feels sorry. There's previous black marks, har har, on his record.

Official local tame pathologist saying it wasn't suffocation when the expert says it was. Trump hiding in the White House bunker, which is at least comfier for him than harper was hiding in a closet. Right wing sociopaths get scared easy. "Where's my praetorian guard? I'm important!"

It's been five years since the Guardian had a daily update on people shot or otherwise killed by police in the US. Was over a thousand that year. Saw a newer update on CBC two days ago, and it has remained just over a thousand a year ever since. It's only the foreigner or raving loonie, because they're underserved wth mental health support like everyone else, white folk who get blown away by police. I think of that assassination on a Toronto tram, but there's many others - maybe even that young woman who fell 24 storeys to her death in Toronto.

Swat team cop response and the way they look reminds me of camo'd Mounties at Wetsuweten earlier this year. Dozens of Mounties to put down six old men and a woman, all unarmed. Ripped down their flag. How brave! Big strong boys defending freedom and the Canadian way. Well. that got us all nationwide rail blockades. Saved by the virus! Must be a certain kind of mindset that gets certain people to join up on the police side of feeling like an official bigshot terrorizing and bullying people just for the fun of it. So much easier when the victims are of a racial minority, too. The good white burghers paying their taxes for the most part never really raise much of a fuss. Those who do are labelled bleeding heart liberals.

Trump calls out the military on his own people, calls the governors wimps, tells them to dominate or "they'll run right over you". All the worst predicted by doomsayers of the collapse of US society coming true.

Ah, I give up.

BM

The Disaffected Lib said...

BM, I share your sense of this being overwhelming. That means it could bring widely disparate outcomes.

Will it be Trump's America that prevails, jackboot America? I wish I knew.

Trailblazer said...

Trump calls out the military on his own people, calls the governors wimps, tells them to dominate or "they'll run right over you".

All this whilst the Trumps run to the panic room!!

Just like most of the ultra right wingers that have never 'served' use or advocate force to further their ambitions.
What a sad sack of shits they are.
Adolf Hitler at least had the decency to volunteer for his country!

TB




Northern PoV said...

Very convenient.
One autopsy for each side: The willfully ignorant and the slightly informed.

Meanwhile the demented Dem nominee suggests shooting folks in the leg rather than the heart and other clueless Dems are still stuck in the "Russians are coming" department:

"KREMLIN CONNECTION? Susan Rice Suggests RUSSIA Behind Violent Protests, Looting Nationwide"

What could go wrong?

The Disaffected Lib said...

I wonder how closely Trump is listening to Stephen Miller, the white supremacist voice in Trump's head?