The judge who oversaw the trial of Derek Chauvin has given an explosive interview as he spoke out for the first time in four years.
Peter Cahill was in charge of proceedings in 2021, when jurors spent three weeks listening to testimony about the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
He dropped a number of bombshells during the wide-ranging sit down, including that he had a pro-police ‘bias’ but was still sickened by the case.
He also admitted he was desperate not to be given the job, saying he swore at his boss when the legal grenade landed on his desk.
Meanwhile Cahill opened up about a letter slipped to him by Lance Ito – the judge in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case – and revealed it read: ‘Peace and wisdom.’
Floyd’s death rocked the world and gave rise to a huge shift in the culture wars towards readdressing how black people are treated.
Chauvin’s trial was also one of the most watched of all time, and has been heavily attacked from both sides since he was sentenced.
Cahill admitted he felt the pressure from the media and political figures during the case, and opened up about how heavily it has impacted his life.
Rioters set a shop on fire on May 28, 2020, during the third day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter after pinning Floyd to the pavement with his knee on Floyd’s neck
He told the Minnesota Star Tribune: ‘Part of my training is to check my bias. And to be honest, I think I have a pro-police bias that I have to be careful not to act on.’
Law enforcement runs in the family, with his brother once being a cop in Wisconsin, while another relative is still serving.
The eyes of the world had been on the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis during the trial, after Cahill ruled it should be livestreamed.
Peter Cahill, seen here, oversaw the proceedings against Chauvin in 2021 where jurors spent three weeks listening to testimony about the day Floyd died
He said his decision was because he believed ‘no one will trust the result if they don’t see what’s going on’.
Cahill first saw the clip of Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground with the rest of the world when it surfaced online. He remembers thinking ‘he’s gonna get charged’.
He immediately had suspicions his name would be shortlisted to take on the case, and told the outlet he did not want to do it.
He added that if asked he knew he could not say no, adding: ‘It’s duty, honor, country when it comes right down to it.’
Due to coronavirus restrictions, Cahill said the decision to have the trial livestreamed was also a constitutional matter.
Under state regulations at the time social distancing was in place and only allowed six people to attend the court in person.
In Cahill’s eyes six people were not enough to be considered a public trial, one of the rules of the Constitution.
Floyd’s death sparked worldwide protests, violence, and a reexamination of racism and policing in the US
Chauvin is seen here kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he lay handcuffed on the ground
Instead millions tuned in to watch it in real time, with over 23million people watching as the guilty verdict was handed down.
Due to the nature of the trial he was hounded by what he described as ‘extremists on both ends’.
His phone was inundated with voicemails and he had enough hate mail to fill two boxes by the end of it, he said.
Chauvin is seen here in a May 31, 2020, booking photo
In an attempt to lighten the mood, he said he and his staff would hold dramatic readings of the letters in his chambers.
He added: ‘I hate extremists on both ends. Most of the hate mail was, ‘You should have given him life’. You had pastors condemning me to hell for my ‘light sentence’.’
Others called on him to pardon Chauvin, something he doesn’t even have the power to do.
At times the messages left for him mentioned his family, which he believes was meant to intimidate him. One letter asking for an autograph even reached his home address.
His wife, kids, friends and his neighbors all rallied around him in support, with care packages routinely being dropped off for him – which included a bottle of whiskey.
Security details frequented his home address, with squad cars appearing some three times a day.
Taking further precaution, he upgraded his home surveillance system and his neighbor’s tree was fitted by the police with a camera to watch over the street.
A persons holds a portrait of George Floyd at the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall during a Black Lives Matter protest in Brooklyn, New York, USA, 08 June 2020
People are seen celebrating Chauvin’s guilty verdict at the site where Floyd was killed
Cahill said that for years he had always slept with a steel pipe under his bed, which continued throughout the trial.
Keen to keep authority over the trial, outside influences out of his control made it difficult for him, he said.
As the trial went on protests and rioting were reignited after the death of Daunte Wright, 20, who was shot and killed by officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop in the state.
President Joe Biden also chimed in on the case, saying he hoped the jury would reach the ‘right verdict’.
The city was also gearing up for a vote on overhauling the police and as the jury took their seats the City Council announced a $27 settlement with Floyd’s family.
Cahill said: ‘It did not help that people were saying ‘defund the police’ — all these idiots on the Minneapolis City Council.’
He told the jury to avoid the news and shot down an attempt by the defense to change the venue to a different county. Saying nowhere in the state would be immune to the case.
Four years on, his handling of the trial is still being critiqued. Tucker Carlson has previously said the jury was intimidated into the guilty verdict by ‘mob justice’.
Local outlet Alpha News ran a documentary, titled The Fall of Minneapolis, which claims Chauvin was prevented from getting a fair trial.
In the documentary they said he was biased after limiting information in court which included Floyd’s criminal history.
‘A lot of this stuff, the prior criminal history, had nothing to do with it. [Floyd’s] not on trial’, he told the outlet.
After the guilty verdict, Cahill said that he spoke with jurors for hours who confirmed to him they convicted Chauvin solely on the evidence at trial.
Critics had attempting to say that the chanting of protestors could be heard inside the courtroom during deliberations. Cahill said the jury was bused away to deliberate.
The criticism of the case is part of what he sees as a growing trend in America of attacking the justice system.
He said: ‘The far right, you know, their daily bread is revisionist history. But in this particular instance, it’s a lack of trust in the judicial system as a whole, and the jury system, and that’s concerning.
‘I think what concerns me most about the revisionist history is the lack of confidence in the judicial process — not even the system or the judges, the judicial process.
‘We had 12 jurors from a variety of backgrounds who gave it good consideration. And I bet if you interviewed them, they’d say they don’t regret their decision.’
