Story at a glance
- During an appearance on “The View,” the lawyer said he and Clooney exchange emails from time to time as the 59-year-old actor is engaged in social justice matters.
- Crump said Clooney explained how the prosecution could respond to Derek Chauvin’s defense lawyers’ suggestion that a drug overdose caused Floyd’s death.
- Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
Actor George Clooney has offered some blunt advice for the prosecution in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
George Floyd’s family lawyer Benjamin Crump on Wednesday revealed that the actor reached out to him via email this week as Chauvin’s trial played out.
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During an appearance on “The View,” the lawyer said he and Clooney exchange emails from time to time as the 59-year-old actor is engaged in social justice matters and wants his children “to live in a better world.”
Crump said Clooney explained how the prosecution could respond to Chauvin’s defense lawyers’ suggestion that a drug overdose caused Floyd’s death, and not the nearly 10 minutes that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
“He says ‘Attorney Crump, you should tell them if Derek Chauvin feels so confident in that, he should volunteer during his case to get down on the floor in that courtroom, and let somebody come and put their knee on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds and be able to see if he can survive,’” Crump recalled of Clooney’s email.
A rep for the actor confirmed to Entertainment Tonight Thursday the actor did in fact send the message to Crump.
“The experts will opine during this case that the average human being can go without oxygen from 30 seconds to 90 seconds — where George Floyd went without oxygen for over 429 seconds, and that’s why it was intentional what this officer did,” Crump added.
“I believe in my heart…that he will be held criminally liable and it will hopefully set new precedents in America,” he said.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd. Floyd, a Black man, died in May 2020 after Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck while he pleaded with the officer that he could not breathe.
The incident was captured on video and sparked widespread protests against police brutality and racial inequality.
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