Minnesota appeals court rejects Derek Chauvin’s request for new trial in George Floyd killing

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin‘s second-degree murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd, and his 22 1/2-year sentence remains in place.

Chauvin’s attorney had asked the appeals court to throw out the ex-officer’s convictions for a long list of reasons, including the massive pretrial publicity. He also argued that legal and procedural errors deprived Chauvin of a fair trial. But the three-judge panel sided with prosecutors who said Chauvin got a fair trial and just sentence.

Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is White, used his knee to pin the Black man’s neck to the ground for 9 1/2 minutes. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death touched off protests…