Judge in Accused Floyd Killer’s Trial to Mull Murder Count Again

The judge presiding over George Floyd’s accused killer’s trial will weigh adding a third-degree murder charge to the counts facing former police offer Derek Chauvin, after the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal.

Judge Peter Cahill said he plans to discuss on Thursday morning the possible reinstatement of that charge. The court has already selected five jurors for the case.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on March 5 overruled Cahill’s refusal to reinstate the charge. The state Supreme Court denied an appeal from Chauvin’s legal team on Wednesday, setting the stage for a new ruling from Cahill.

Reinstating the third-degree murder charge wouldn’t increase the maximum penalties Chauvin faces. But it would give prosecutors more room to maneuver in the upcoming trial, while providing Minneapolis jurors a third option between the existing second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges.

To prove the third-degree murder charge if it’s reinstated, prosecutors need to show Chauvin caused Floyd’s death “by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life.”