The lawyer for Maurice Hall, one of the key witnesses who was in the car with George Floyd on the day he died, said that Hall’s testimony in court could potentially implicate him in a third-degree murder charge.
Hall’s attorney Ashlee C. McFarlane said that the car that Floyd and Hall were in on the day that Floyd died was searched twice and drugs were found in the car both times.
“This leaves Mr. Hall potentially incriminating himself into a future prosecution for third-degree murder,” McFarlane told the court Tuesday. (RELATED: Witness Breaks Down While Re-Watching George Floyd’s Death During Trial)
“That statute, as the court is well aware, covers third-degree murder liability for someone who is involved in drug activity that eventually leads to an overdose,” she continued. She added that the statute is broad and has been interpreted broadly by the courts in the past.
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BREAKING: Lawyer for George Floyd’s dealer states he does not want to testify bc it could incriminate himself for George Floyd’s murder pic.twitter.com/xPFvmHsyqQ
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 6, 2021
Third-degree murder liability covers more than just people who sold drugs to a person who ended up overdosing, McFarlane explained. It could cover anyone in the chain of drug distribution, including someone who prepared the drugs for a person who overdosed or someone who acted as a middle man between the dealer and the person who overdosed.
“And so any of the activities that Mr. Hall would be testifying about throughout that day and including before police arrived on May 25, 2020, could potentially incriminate him in that charge,” she said. “Not to mention drug sale and drug use.”
“Additionally, the other area of testimony in which Mr. Hall would be invoking his fifth amendment privilege is any personal knowledge that he has of drug use by George Floyd up until and including May 25, for the exact same reason,” McFarlane told the judge. “It leaves him open to exposure on a potential future third-degree murder charge. Any testimony regarding his activities with Mr. Floyd could leave him open to potentially incriminating himself.”
Floyd’s girlfriend Courteney Ross testified that she believed Maurice Hall sold Floyd drugs on occasion. Hall provided a false name to officers at the scene of Floyd’s death and had outstanding warrants for felony possession of a firearm, felony domestic assault and felony drug possession, according to the New York Times.
A judge will likely decide later this week if Hall has to testify, the Times reported.