Disgraced former Minnesota cop Derek Chauvin's fight for freedom has taken an unexpected turn, as a judge opens the door to a closer examination of George Floyd's autopsy results.
Chauvin's legal team has been granted permission to analyze heart tissue and fluid samples from George Floyd's autopsy, a move central to Chauvin's appeal of his federal civil rights conviction, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson issued the order on Monday, allowing Chauvin's attorneys to pursue evidence supporting a claim that Floyd's death was caused by an underlying heart condition rather than Chauvin's actions during the May 2020 arrest.
The appeal centers on a medical theory involving Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a stress-induced heart condition. Chauvin's motion states, according to Star Tribune, that a forensic pathologist in Topeka, Kansas, previously told his original defense lawyer, Eric Nelson, that "he did not think Chauvin caused Floyd's death."
Chauvin argues Nelson failed to pursue this theory or conduct further testing of Floyd's heart tissue, amounting to "ineffective assistance of counsel."
In his order, Judge Magnuson wrote, "Given the significant nature of the criminal case that Mr. Chauvin was convicted of, and given that the discovery that Mr. Chauvin seeks could support Dr. Schaetzel's opinion of how Mr. Floyd died, the Court finds that there is good cause to allow Mr. Chauvin to take the discovery that he seeks."
Magnuson's ruling permits Chauvin's current legal team to examine histology slides, heart tissue samples, tissue blocks, and photographs of Floyd's heart. The team is also authorized to analyze fluid samples taken during the autopsy.
Chauvin, who is serving over 20 years in combined state and federal sentences, claims his original defense team's failure to act on the pathologist's findings impacted his case. Robert Meyers, an assistant federal defender in Minneapolis, now represents Chauvin, taking over from Nelson.
