Judge Approves Testing of George Floyd's Autopsy Samples in Derek Chauvin Appeal

Chauvin seeks to overturn his federal civil rights conviction, citing claims of ineffective legal counsel and a new medical theory on Floyd's death.

A U.S. District Judge has granted Derek Chauvin's legal team permission to examine heart tissue and fluid samples from George Floyd's autopsy.
Chauvin's defense argues that Floyd's death may have been caused by a heart condition, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, rather than asphyxiation from Chauvin's actions.
Chauvin claims ineffective assistance of counsel, stating his original attorney failed to inform him of a forensic pathologist's alternative theory on Floyd's cause of death.
Federal prosecutors maintain that the legal standard for overturning a conviction on the basis of ineffective counsel is extremely high.
Chauvin is serving concurrent sentences for state murder and federal civil rights convictions, with his earliest release date set for 2037.