deciding whether to sentence someone to death are more lenient when a defendant seems to show remorse.“It is something that juries, by human nature, think about. What sort of person are we dealing with here?” said Susan Bandes, an emeritus professor at DePaul University College of Law.
Defense attorneys often try to cast defendants in a positive way by making sure they are wearing a suit that fits, getting them to smile at breaks in proceedings or asking their family or friends to appear in the courtroom. Daly said it is a way for the attorney to send a subtle message to jurors: “I’m not afraid of this guy.”Legal experts say that Chauvin’s defense attorney has a lot to weigh in deciding whether to put Chauvin on the stand, but one factor could be showing a different side to the former officer. Witnesses are allowed to take their masks off while they testify.
I think that’s the least of his worries
'Experts say it could hurt him with the jury.' PLEASE tell me y'all aren't fuckin serious?
Considering the blasé look on his face as George Floyd's life drained out underneath him, I'd say the mask probably helps.
It comes down to evidence and the presentation of facts. Juries are not fools.
i m just wondering what is he pretending to take notes of all this time
Who thought this was a good idea for an article?
what, they can't see the remorse he doesn't feel?
The evidence is what should sway them. Not whether they can see his face because he's wearing a mask IN A PANDEMIC.
Would anyone accused of murder be allowed to cover their face during trial as well, even after Covid-19?
Well, that's just too damn bad. We have all seen what he did, there is no hiding from it.
what a bunch of dumb dicks on this scene lulz
He ought to have given his 9 minutes of murderous action some thought if he didn't want to risk a trial by jury, masked or otherwise.
George Floyd isn't allowed to be in the courtroom, and he's the one actually on trial.
Good
Maybe kneeling on a dude's neck for 10 minutes could hurt him with the jury?
If the defense is so concerned then they should put him on the stand... let's hear, in his own words, why he needed to keep a knee on a man's neck until he died
Who cares about him!
good
We wouldn't want him to have an unfair encounter with the law now would we? Maybe the jury would be more sympathetic if someone kneeled on his neck for over 9 mins. According to his lawyer you can't die that way.
I think it can only help him. Not seeing his mouth stops us from instantly recalling his sociopathic smirk.
Floyd’spast&present dealing withDRUGS,underlying health issues&Pos 4CovidNOTgoin2ChangeVerdict .GeorgeFULLY restrained &CAN’T BREATHE. ImmedTreatment SittingFloydUP AllowsLung expansion😡&allowEMT standingThere2assistReassurinHim🚑enRoute MurderNoMatterHowDefenseTries2SpinIt😢
His face while he had his knee on George Floyd’s neck says it all-Guilty!
I think what hurts him, with the jury, is the fact that he murder someone... but that’s just me.
I was a jury foreman and they specifically told us we could only use evidence presented in court. I realize other influences can sway jurors but it can’t be a defense for not having to wear a mask.
Good let him rot. If and when he's found guilty
He killed someone and on film guilty jail maskonmaskoff
'experts'
Who gives a flying fuck if that'll hurt him?
Tell me again why I should care if it hurts him?
His question: “What have I got in my pocket?” The answer: “A person’s life.”
Why
I think the smug look he has when he’s killing a man may be more damaging to his case than a mask.
We've been here before. I don't need to rehash the results. I'm not convinced I can trust a jury to do the right thing in either case.
Everyone has been required to wear it in the courtroom unless you're testifying or at the podium.
Look at his hands in his pocket. What message does that send. I’m in control, I’m in charge I’ll do what ever the fuck I want with no consequences. There is no version of this trial that says I’m innocent b/c he’s not. Media, police, union, you spin this at your peril
Idk I think the whole murdering an unarmed man thing is probably sitting worse with the jury who knows tho
I hope it harms him in the same way that character assaults harm poc in the court room.
It could also help him, you know, like if he's laughing when they play the video of him murdering George the jury wont see it...
Video, witnesses, experts and his own boss all say dude took Mr. Floyd's life, I think he has a lot more to worry about than a mask covering his rehearsed reactions.
Oh brother.....The mask is making him guilty. 🙄
All the jury need do is look at Chauvin on that video tape, with his hands in his pockets, & his sunglasses on his head, as people are begging him not, to kill George Floyd. That evidence is indisputable. Whether or not he's remorseful, has absolutely no bearing on his guilt.
Depending on what his reactions are, the mask could also help him.
If a jury member is influenced to ignore evidence in favor of someone looking like they're sorry that they murdered someone then they have no place being on a jury. This is not a popularity contest, it's a murder trial.
Good.
Congrats--might be the dumbest criminal trial story I have ever seen. Defendants in any trial are not supposed to show emotion, so a mask is irrelevant. Also, what is the 'take'--that if jurors saw remorse in his face, Chauvin would get a free pass on suffocating a man to death?
Are u kidding me? The man killed someone by sitting on his neck. Have you been concerned about the mask for black or brown defendants. Can you name even 1 that you cared about?
Me watching the riots if this doesn’t go the way people want on here.
Seems pretty minor compared to THE VIDEO SHOWING HIM INTENTIONALLY MURDERING SOMEONE FOR NINE GODDAMN MINUTES!
Watching a video of him murdering George Floyd and having witnesses testify that he murdered George Floyd is going to hurt him with the jury. There, fixed it.
.... who cares he knelt on a man‘s neck until he stopped breathing...and continued to do so even after Paramedics arrived to administer aid. So wearing or not wearing a mask won’t make this guilty MF suddenly not guilty. DerekChauvinTrial
I think the drawn-out hate crime/torture/murder he committed will damage his standing with the jury. THE MASK?! Jeepers!!
F him
The mask doesn't hide tears of which he hasn't shed one drop.
Or, let me finish this thought, it could be helping him since the jury doesn't get to see a sick, twisted smile every time the defense describes Chauvin putting a knee on Floyd's neck and killing him.
Wrong
He didn't have any reaction while he murdered George Floyd either. What you see is what you get.
Awwww, too damn bad !!
Jenny 💥 Batgirl by night 🦇 🌛 End White Supremacy! Back_dafucup · 5m If we required cops to have a 4 year degree in social work and less training on how to use a gun, shit would be a lot better.
Convict Chauvin GeorgeFloyd
Wearing a mask could hurt him ... in a murder trial?
He could always try not murdering black people. That would really help him with the jury.
Probably not more than killing that guy tho tbh
'I can't breathe with this mask on.' - Chauvin, probably.
I mean, the murder might hurt him worse.
Don’t think the jury would like him regardless.