I think the prosecution had a decent day today. If we go back about a year ago, the idea being floated was that Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck and that lead to compression or blockage of the carotid arteries along the side of the next causing a drop in blood pressure and then brain death due to the extended time on the neck. However; the video showed that Chauvin's knee was not on the side of Floyd's neck for the vast majority of the time and was instead on the back of the neck or on the shoulder (left). This effectively eliminated carotid blockage by Chauvin as the proximate cause of death. Hence the state's case was to show that it was the restriction of the windpipe and the inability to expand the lungs that was THE cause of Floyd's death. I think their two witnesses did a decent job of making that case.
One of the more interesting portions was the chart explaining lung capacity and how it could be decreased by compression and restriction. It's a sound theory to me so long as the premises stand up. I'm not sure they do.
The largest problem with the witness testimony is that neither of the ones I saw were actual doctors FOR Floyd. They.came to conclusions based on after the fact reports and video. Why is this important? Well lets take aerobic capacity. Anyone who has done MAF training knows that the same person can have greatly increased (ore reduced) aerobic capacity simply based on lifestyle. Some people can climb stairs and barely raise their breathing rate and another person of the same build may have issues. Since everyone is different, unless you know THAT particular person's aerobic capacity you cannot make any assumptions about it. This is why ethical doctors decline to make diagnoses where they do not know the patient.
The second thing I found particularly...reaching by the prosecution was the idea that Floyd was "pushing on the tire" of the patrol car with a finger to lift himself up to breath. It actually looks like Floyd is flailing.
In terms of the Fentanyl the state made an argument that I actually found interesting: Floyd had levels that were indicative of someone who did not meet the definition of DUI. Now I'm no expert in drugs but I have an understanding that Fentanyl is many times more powerful than morphine. If I'm a juror and I'm "informed" that the drugs in Floyd's system don't even meet the DUI standard for impairment I am FAR more likely to convict Chauvin of at least negligent homicide because the ONLY thing left, at this point, would be Chauvin's knee.
This is why I think the prosecution had a good day.
The Fentanyl ball is in the defense court. To successfully maintain Chauvin's innocence they will need to show that the prosecution [grossly] understated the effects of the drugs in Floyd's system. From the closing questions of the day I suspect they intend to do that.
One last point. I think the defense will have to address, pick apart, the asphyxiation argument. I personally think that for someone who could not breath he was making far too many loud statements. If he was that unable to breath he should not be making that many loud statements and that along with the energy he was burning moving around just doesn't sit right with me.
But again, the state's witnesses flat out claim that it was hypoxia brought on by Chauvin's knee that was the cause of death. So the defense has to address that.
Again, I give the day to the prosecution.
