Minnesota Attorney General Focused On Mechanics Of Derek Chauvin Case Not Its Impact

Last week Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd, was convicted on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter. Chauvin was cuffed and hauled off to prison to await sentencing.

The image was a rarity in American history, accountability for a white police officer who murdered a Black man. It was only the second time a police officer was convicted for killing an unarmed person in Minnesota's history. Before Chauvin, the only officer ever held accountable for killing an unarmed person in the state, was a Black police officer who shot and killed a white woman.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led the prosecution of Chauvin as part of a 14-member team of lawyers. He sat down with NPR recently following the funeral of Daunte Wright, another young Black man shot and killed by police outside Minneapolis in the midst of Chauvin's murder trial.

NOTE: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Interview Highlights

We're speaking just after Daunte Wright's