{"id":360426,"date":"2021-03-31T15:15:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T19:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=360426"},"modified":"2021-03-31T15:15:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T19:15:49","slug":"shapiro-no-the-derek-chauvin-trial-isnt-a-referendum-on-american-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shapiro-no-the-derek-chauvin-trial-isnt-a-referendum-on-american-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"SHAPIRO: No, The Derek Chauvin Trial Isn\u2019t A Referendum On American Racism"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fshapiro-no-the-derek-chauvin-trial-isnt-a-referendum-on-american-racism%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=360426&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-4848.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Since the death of George Floyd, our esteemed media, as well as their Democratic allies, have suggested that Floyd\u2019s alleged murder is representative of broader American white supremacy, that Floyd\u2019s experience with law enforcement is indicative of how American police pose an existential threat to black Americans. They have offered no evidence for this proposition. Not a shred of evidence has been presented to suggest that former police officer Derek Chauvin\u2019s actions the day of Floyd\u2019s death were motivated by race. Not a shred of evidence has been presented to suggest that black Americans live at threat of extermination from whites or police officers: As of 2013, according to Reuters, a black person\u2019s chances of being murdered by a white person were 5 in 1 million, and according to The Washington Post database of police shootings, as of 2019, a black person\u2019s chances of being shot by the police while unarmed were approximately 3 in 10 million.<\/p>\n<p>But facts don\u2019t matter when you\u2019re pressing forward a narrative.<\/p>\n<p data-slot-rendered-dynamic=\"true\">Now that Chauvin is on trial for Floyd\u2019s murder, the facts will once again become secondary to the narrative. Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., said that police reform is dependent on Chauvin\u2019s conviction: \u201cIf there was ever a case that you can just not argue, it is this one. This trial has got to come out the right way, and we have to deliver.\u201d Floyd family lawyer Benjamin Crump stated, \u201cToday starts a landmark trial that will be a referendum on how far America has come in its quest for equality and justice for all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s simply not true.<\/p>\n<p>Bass, Crump and the rest of the establishment media assume that Chauvin\u2019s case is clear-cut \u2014 that nobody could possibly vote to acquit. The fact pattern, however, presents serious issues for the prosecution. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All three charges are a challenge.<\/p>\n<p data-slot-rendered-dynamic=\"true\">The prosecution first has to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Floyd\u2019s death was caused by Chauvin\u2019s actions. But the autopsy report shows that Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system and had a serious heart problem, and that Chauvin\u2019s neck hold did not in fact cause damage to Floyd\u2019s trachea. That means that while Chauvin\u2019s neck restraint may have contributed to Floyd\u2019s death by ratcheting up his blood pressure, for example, it\u2019s uncertain that it <i>caused&nbsp;<\/i>Floyd\u2019s death more than, say, the excited delirium from which Floyd may have already been suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Second-degree murder requires that the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin unintentionally killed Floyd while committing a felony \u2014 in this case, felony assault. But felony assault requires \u201cintentional\u201d infliction of bodily harm \u2014 that Chauvin wanted to hurt Floyd, not just use a suppression tactic already greenlit by the Minneapolis Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>Third-degree murder \u2014 depraved-heart murder \u2014 doesn\u2019t actually seem to fit the crime here, since it requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin acted in a way \u201ceminently dangerous to others.\u201d Others \u2014 plural. Usually, depraved-heart murder applies to someone who fires a gun into a crowd, not a person who targets an individual.<\/p>\n<p data-slot-rendered-dynamic=\"true\">Second-degree manslaughter requires that the prosecution prove that Chauvin acted with \u201cgross negligence.\u201d But such gross negligence would have to show that Chauvin should have known that his behavior might cause Floyd\u2019s death \u2014 an unlikely expectation, since the Minneapolis Police Department actively taught neck holds of the type Chauvin used, and which Chauvin applied only after Floyd resisted arrest and refused to be confined to the back seat of a police car.<\/p>\n<p data-slot-rendered-dynamic=\"true\">The Chauvin case, then, is a legally complex one. But such complexities have been abandoned in favor of narrative. Should Chauvin be acquitted, we are likely to hear that America has proved its racism once again. The only thing that has already been proved, however, is that the \u201cAmerica as white supremacist\u201d lie will remain the media\u2019s dominant narrative, no matter the data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>member<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the death of George Floyd, our esteemed media, as well as their Democratic allies, have suggested that Floyd\u2019s alleged murder is representative of broader American white supremacy, that Floyd\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311466,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-4848.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"SHAPIRO: No, The Derek Chauvin Trial Isn\u2019t A Referendum On American Racism","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-360426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-4848.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"SHAPIRO: No, The Derek Chauvin Trial Isn\u2019t A Referendum On American Racism","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}