A judge has ruled that the defense team for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin may examine George Floyd’s autopsy, heart tissue and fluids as part of Chauvin’s appeal. With a new defense team in place, Chauvin’s appeal seeks to test a new theory regarding Floyd’s cause of death.

In 2021, a jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Floyd.

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Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, sparked worldwide protests against police brutality. Chauvin, who is white, was seen in a video pinning Floyd, a Black man, to the ground.

Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during the arrest, despite Floyd repeatedly telling officers that he could not breathe.

Floyd ultimately lost consciousness and later died.

Chauvin’s new defense team argues that a heart condition, not Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, caused Floyd’s death. They hope the examination of Floyd’s autopsy and related tissues can support their case.

The examination could be used as evidence in Chauvin’s appeal, in which he contends that his original lawyer, Eric Nelson, provided ineffective counsel during his trial.

According to court filings, Chauvin’s new attorney, Robert Meyers, says a forensic pathologist from Kansas contacted Nelson and said that Floyd died due to a catecholamine crisis, also known as acute heart failure.

Nelson reportedly did not consult with the doctor or have any of Floyd’s heart tissue samples tested to support the theory.

In an August filing, federal prosecutors claimed that Nelson made a “strategic choice” to disregard what they described as an “untested opinion.”

Chauvin is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. If his federal conviction is not overturned, he will remain incarcerated until at least 2038.