Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who was the lead prosecutor in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, admitted on Sunday that he “felt a little bad” for the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd last week.
Ellison Discusses Chauvin
While being interviewed on “60 Minutes,” Ellison was asked about what his reaction was when they jury found Chauvin guilty.
“Gratitude — humility — followed by a certain sense of, I’ll say satisfaction. It’s what we were aiming for the whole time,” Ellison responded. “I spent 16 years as a criminal defense lawyer, so, I will admit, I felt a little bad for the defendant. I think he deserved to be convicted. But he’s a human being.”
When asked about his compassion for Chauvin, Ellison said he was “not in any way wavering from my responsibility.”
Ellison Doubles Down
“But I hope we never forget that people who are defendants in our criminal justice system, that they’re human beings,” he explained. “They’re people. I mean, George Floyd was a human being. And so I’m not going to ever forget that everybody in this process is a person.”
As for Chauvin’s motive, Ellison said that he didn’t believe Floyd’s murder was a hate crime.
