Judge Peter Cahill announced that he will not change the memo regarding former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has requested that Cahill change the memo to reflect the supposed trauma that the young girls experienced. As was reported on FOX 9, Judge Cahill has declined Ellison’s request to change the wording of the memo.
As reported by The Minnesota Sun, Attorney General Keith Ellison wrote in a letter to Cahill that “a growing body of research suggests that observers discount the experiences of young Black girls” and that they are seen “as needing less protection and nurturing than White girls.” He said that it is a process called “adultification.”
In the memo regarding Chauvin’s sentencing, Cahill stated that the presence of children at the scene of George Floyd’s death, while tragic, did not lead him to extend the sentencing. He also explained that he agreed with the defense’s argument that the children were free to leave at any time.
Ellison took issue with Cahill’s response to the children. In his letter in response, Ellison wrote that “discounting the trauma of the children who testified at trial — in an authoritative judicial opinion, no less — will only exacerbate the trauma they have suffered. The Court should correct the public record to avoid that result.”
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison after being convicted of the murder of Floyd. Floyd was under arrest for trying to pass counterfeit money and died after a struggle ensued. Since the death of Floyd, calls for police reform and accountability have been made.
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
