Minneapolis, MN (MNN) – Two of the first seven seated jurors have been excused from the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial.
That followed questioning from Judge Pete Cahill about publicity around the city of Minneapolis’ $27 million settlement with the family of George Floyd.
The first juror excused, an Hispanic man in his 20s, said it would be hard for him to be impartial and added “last time I was asked about my strong opinions against Chauvin. Clearly, the city of Minneapolis has some strong opinions as well and this just kind of confirms my opinion that I already had.”
The other excused juror, a white man in his 30s, said the settlement “sent a message that the city of Minneapolis felt that something was wrong and they wanted to make it right to the tune of that dollar amount. I think in the headline if it would’ve said two thousand dollars versus $20 million, that’s a big change so I think that sticker price obviously shocked me.”
There are now seven seated jurors. The settlement and its publicity have become a key issue in the trial so far as the defense has asked to delay the trial and the judge has taken it under advisement.
Judge Cahill says he will likely announce his decision on that Friday.
(from Minnesota News Network)
