Judge to Allow Chauvin’s Defense to Test George Floyd’s Heart Tissue

(Learfield News/Minneapolis, MN) — A judge has ruled lawyers for Derek Chauvin can test preserved samples of George Floyd’s heart in the latest challenge to Chauvin’s conviction.

The ex-Minneapolis officer is simultaneously serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22-and-a-half state sentence for second-degree murder.

The granted motion allows Chauvin’s attorneys to inspect the evidence as part of a claim that a heart condition, and not Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, killed Floyd during a May 2020 police encounter.

They can also take fluids from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office for testing.

Floyd died on May 25th, 2020 after Chauvin used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the ground for nine-and-a-half minutes.