Andrew Bolt: Justice put to the test in Derek Chauvin trial over George Floyd

How can we be sure police officer Derek Chauvin got a fair trial when so many people threatened violence if he walked free?

Justice must not only be done, but seen to be done. So I can’t cheer the jury that’s found police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of killing George Floyd.

This looked too much like a lynching.

Yes, I know how damning was the footage of Chauvin pressing his knee around Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in a Minneapolis gutter as Floyd cried “I can’t breathe”.

I also know how important it was to find Chauvin guilty of murder.

Floyd’s death sparked Black Lives Matter riots that burned and looted many cities, and a “not guilty” finding would have caused even worse.

Others claim a guilty verdict was critical to give black activists faith in American justice.

Derek Chauvin pictured in court.

But who can have faith in this verdict – or justice – when even former President Barack Obama yesterday thanked protesters, saying “justice” was closer “because of their work”.

Justice is supposed to be blind to everything but the evidence.

So this jury was supposed to be blind to protesters in Minneapolis burning streets of buildings to the ground.

Blind to Vice President Kamala Harris raising bail money for these protesters.

Blind to the menacing crowd outside the court, and the razor wire and barricades to keep it out.

A person reacts after the Chauvin verdict in Minneapolis. Picture: Getty

Blind to the attack on the former home of a witness who’d backed Chauvin.

And blind to the local Minneapolis Star Tribune, which gave identifying details of the jurors, short of their names and addresses.

Justice must be deaf to all but the evidence, too.

So this jury was supposed to be deaf to the state’s governor declaring Chauvin guilty, and the local council giving Floyd’s family $US27 million.

Deaf to Democrat congresswoman Maxine Waters telling protesters in Minneapolis to go in even harder if Chauvin was acquitted.

There was, of course, another side to this case. Floyd had an enlarged heart and had swallowed a fatal overdose of fentanyl. He’d cried “I can’t breathe” even before police wrestled him to the ground during an arrest.

I don’t know if Chauvin was innocent, or whether the jury acted from fear.

But I cannot be sure Chauvin got a fair trial, either, when so many people threatened violence if he walked free.

Nor can I be sure that “faith” in American justice has been restored.

Faith in the power of mob rule, maybe.

So expect more riots next time.

Originally published as Andrew Bolt: Justice put to the test in Derek Chauvin trial over George Floyd