Derek Chauvin’s attorneys are permitted by the judge to test George Floyd’s heart samples in the federal conviction challenge

A judge on Monday decided that lawyers for Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, can examine preserved heart samples of George Floyd in an attempt to overturn his federal conviction from 2022.

In addition to serving a 22 1/2-year state term for second-degree murder and a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, Chauvin is attempting to have his federal conviction overturned.

Using hypotheses from pathologist Dr. William Schaetzel of Kansas, Chauvin’s lawyer filed a motion to remove the charges in November 2023. Schaetzel argues that Floyd’s death was not caused by Chauvin’s acts, but rather by Takotsubo myocarditis, a disorder brought on by severe mental or physical trauma, or abnormally high amounts of catecholamines, which are neurohormones released under acute stress.

In addition, the motion charges Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s former lawyer, with ineffective counsel for failing to apprise Chauvin of Schaetzel’s notion and to follow up on the pathologist’s recommendation to test Floyd’s cardiac samples further.

The judge’s decision now permits Chauvin’s legal team to carry out additional discovery. Photographs, tissue samples, tissue blocks, fluids, and preserved slides of Floyd’s heart are all available for them to view and evaluate. With samples held by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, the team specifically wants to determine the concentrations of catecholamines and associated substances, like metanephrine.

After Chauvin pinned George Floyd’s knee to his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest, Floyd passed away on May 25, 2020. A historic reckoning over racial injustice and police violence was sparked by the incident, which was caught on bystander video and sparked protests around the country and the world.