Filing charges in George Floyd's death was the easy part. Now comes the hard part.
Paul Butler is the Albert Brick Professor in Law at Georgetown University. A former federal prosecutor, he is the author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men.
Analysis of he difficulties in getting a conviction against a police officer and the rational for the charges that were brought.
I am sympathetic to the desire to see punishment that reflects the gravity of the crime. First-degree murder in Minnesota carries a life sentence; 25 years is the maximum for third-degree murder. But police officers dont usually get the maximum sentence in any case.
And a convicted murderer is a convicted murderer. That is far more likely with the third-degree charges because the prosecution has less to prove.
Meanwhile, there are risks on the other side. An acquittal in a case like this would be a crushing defeat not just for the prosecutors, but for all Americans who hope to see justice done. This is a case that prosecutors must win and a third-degree murder conviction is better than no conviction at all.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/31/filing-charges-george-floyds-death-was-easy-part/