Bet Chauvin will appeal on grounds that the jury found him guilty because they feared an acquittal would ignite a "riot." This argument worked for Miami officer William Lozano in 1989, after he was convicted for the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old Black man named Clement Lloyd

Following Lloyd’s killing on Martin Luther King Day, hundreds of residents took to the streets, throwing rocks and burning buildings as heavily armed police attempted to quell the unrest with tear gas and shot guns. The rebellion lasted for 4 days that January

In “preparedness for the possibility of a civil disturbance,” after the announcement of the verdict in Lozano’s trial, Miami police purchased gas masks and riot essentials and prepared for the worst— like the Minneapolis police department and many others in recent days

Lozano was convicted of manslaughter and given the minimum sentence of 7 years. An appeals court quietly overturned the decision, using the argument that right wing commentators are already making about the Chauvin case: that the threat of “rioting” intimidated the jury

I discuss the brutal killing of Clement Lloyd, the resulting rebellion, Lozano’s case, and countless other miscarriages of justice since the Civil Rights Movement in AMERICA ON FIRE, dropping in just a few weeks @LiverightPub https://wwnorton.com/books/america-on-fire