Prof. Frase Quoted in The Legal Examiner Regarding Separate Trials for Officers Involved in Death of George Floyd

Professor Richard Frase, co-director of the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, was quoted in The Legal Examiner regarding the recent ruling to hold Derek Chauvin’s trial separately from the other three officers involved in George Floyd’s death. Frase noted that the decision to try Mr. Chauvin separately may be advantageous for the other three defendants. On the topic of a potential plea deal Frase said, “The most I could see (the prosecution) saying ‘If you plead guilty to felony murder and save all the witnesses the trauma of going through this, we will not formally ask the judge depart from sentencing guidelines’ for more prison time.” Frase also predicted if the case goes to trial that Chauvin would be found guilty due to the circumstances of Mr. Floyd’s death, “In this case, there is no panic claim, no self-defense claim and they were completely in control of the situation.”