A former Minneapolis police officer - who had his third-degree murder conviction overturned in court after killing an Australian yoga instructor - may lead to a similar charge against Derek Chauvin getting thrown out.
Disgraced cop Mohamed Noor was found guilty of murder and manslaughter after accidentally shooting Justine Ruszczyk Damond when she called 911 about a sexual assault in her neighborhood in July 2017.
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Noor did not intentionally mean to murder Damond in the shooting and the third-degree murder charge was dismissed last Wednesday.
The decision means Noor will serve just four of his original 12-and-a-half-year sentence, which he started in June 2019. The ruling not only shortens Noor’s sentence by eight years, it could lead to the reversal of the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin, a legal expert said.
'Chauvin will likely have his decision reversed because it is legally incompatible to say that someone is guilty of intentionally doing something and at the same time they’re guilty of unintentionally doing something,' Andrew Wilson, a partner at Wilson Criminal Defense in Minneapolis, told VICE News.
Experts say it may be unlikely for Chauvin's sentence to be reduced as he was convicted on more serious charges
Derek Chauvin (left) faces a possibility of having his third-degree murder charges reversed after another former Minneapolis cop Mohamed Noor (right) had third-degree murder charges overturned
Chauvin was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in April.
Noor was convicted of both third-degree murder and third-degree manslaughter when he accidentally shot Damond in the abdomen.
She was approaching the squad car Noor was in and he shot the unarmed Damond after being startled by her.
Damond called 911 after she heard screaming from a nearby female neighbor who she believed to be a victim of sexual assault.
Last week's Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling stems from whether or not Noor acted with 'a generalized indifference to human life' - as third-degree murder requires in the state - when he fired his gun and killed Damond.
The state Court
