Entire US justice system under scrutiny as ex-officer goes on trial in George Floyd’s death
January 12, 2023
The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd will be a defining moment for police reform and America's criminal justice system. The viral video of Chauvin holding Floyd his knee on Floyd's neck set off months of protests against police brutality and reignited a national conversation ab out reforming the police. Whether Chauvin will be held accountable for Floyd's death remains to be seen.
“It’s a seminal moment,” Howard Henderson, founding director of the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University, said about the trial. “The stakes are extremely high,” Henderson added. “This will symbolize to the country, to Black Americans, how far we’ve come – if we’re able to hold police accountable.”
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges.