In court on Monday (April 19), state prosecutor Steve Schleicher opened his closing arguments by saying George Floyd’s name.

“His name was George Perry Floyd, Jr. and he was born on October 14, 1973 in Fayetteville, North Carolina,” Schleicher began. He went on to talk about Floyd’s family, and repeatedly refuted the argument from one of the defense’s witnesses that Floyd had “superhuman” strength that somehow justified Chauvin’s actions.

“On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died face down on the pavement on 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis. Nine minutes and 29 seconds, nine minutes and 29 seconds. During this time, George Floyd struggled. Desperate to breathe, to make enough room in his chest, to breath. But the force was too much. He was trapped. Trapped with the unyielding payment underneath him –– as unyielding as the men that held him down.”

Schleicher spent nearly two hours reiterating the state’s case, reminding the jury that Chauvin and three other officers were called to the scene for a report of a counterfeit $20 bill.

Schleicher underlined the point that Chauvin act in a way that was not how he was trained, and if he had, George Floyd’s life might have been saved.

“The defendant knew how to do it, he had the training. He knew better. He just didn’t do better. George Floyd did not have to die that day. But, for the fact, that the defendant decided not to get up, and not to let up. George Floyd died.”

“And you can believe your own eyes,” Schleicher told the jury. “This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first, when you saw that video. It is exactly that. You can believe your eyes.”

“This wasn’t policing. This wasn’t policing. This was murder,” he added, before conlcuding with this: “The defendant was guilty of all three counts, all of them, and there was no excuse.”

During his closing statement, Schleicher spelled out what the charges are against Chauvin and how the State proved their case against him.

For each charge, prosecutors showed how they proved their case “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

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