Meet Earl Gray, the Scumbag Attorney for Kim Potter and Thomas Lane Who's Too Right-Wing for Piers Morgan

     Upon receiving her guilty verdict, Kim Potter showed no surprise; after all, the first words out of her mouth after she killed Daunte Wright were, "I'm going to prison." It would only wind up being for two years, but she did go to prison. The man seated next to her seemed devastated, however, putting his head in his hands. At sentencing, the same man went on an incoherent, stumbling rant, even reading a letter from Potter's 82-year-old mother claiming that the only reason she was going to prison, the only reason people despised her, was because she was a police officer. Remember, that's the argument Reform Party appointee Judge Regina Chu bought.

     That letter was from Potter's mother, but the fact that Gray read it word for word lets you know he really believes it, as does the fact that Kim Potter is not the only high-profile police brutality case he has taken in Hennepin County alone. He calls himself one of Minnesota's most "elite attorneys," with 40 years of experience making himself "feared by zealous prosecutors." I think Attorneys General Ellison and Garland aren't losing much sleep over him, but, apparently, he believes the prosecution of Potter to be overzealous. He believed the prosecution of Jeronimo Yanez for killing Philando Castile to be overzealous, and he got Yanez acquitted in that case.

     Apparently, he also believes the prosecution of Thomas Lane to be overzealous. There's no doubt that, of the four officers, Lane is the least culpable. Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and civil rights violation, is on trial for tax violations, has a long history of unpunished misconduct resulting in injury and death, and was the one who physically put his knee on George Floyd's neck. Tou Thao kept the crowd at bay, ignoring cries from bystanders that Floyd was losing consciousness and that he was not resisting; he, like his partner Chauvin, had a long history of violence, including a 2017 settlement in which the city paid $50,000 to a man who was punched in the mouth by Thao while handcuffed. Kueng sat on Floyd's back, contributing to his lack of oxygen, and did not offer aid of any kind. Lane, on the other hand, a rookie like Kueng, held Floyd's legs, told Chauvin that they should put George on his side, and later performed CPR on him after the ambulance arrived. Still, he's just as legally responsible for Floyd's murder as Chauvin is and as Thao and Kueng are. He knew that Floyd was being put in an unsafe position, he knew that people died that way, and he refused to intervene to stop him.

     I understand Mr. Gray has a job to do defending his client, but it does seem like a slam dunk case for prosecutors. All three officers (Chauvin having already been convicted) knew from their monitoring of Floyd and from bystanders that he was dying. All three had a duty to intervene and a duty to render medical care to the man in their custody, and all three did not intervene while Thao and Kueng did not render medical care. On the state charges of accessory to murder and manslaughter, the case is just as solid. Gray's conduct in the courtroom, however, has been atrocious. He angrily asked a witness if Lane should be expected to force Officer Chauvin off of George Floyd. The answer that any rational person would have given: if he knew a man's life was on the line, then yes.

     Even PIERS MORGAN felt the same way. In the realm of prominent legal cases, there are aspects that become famous among people who follow the legal world but that don't necessarily become part of the mainstream conversation. One example includes a video showing J. Alexander Kueng being cursed out by a shopper who noticed him at Cub Foods while he was out on bail; another includes one showing Lane being, well, cursed out as he left the courthouse. One involving Gray was when he was interviewed on Good Morning Britain by Piers Morgan. When Morgan implied the killing was racist, Gray went on a tirade about how Floyd's murder had nothing to do with race and claimed he didn't have to answer Morgan's questions. Morgan replied, "This shows not only how despicable these officers are, but how despicable the people representing them are," to which Gray replied by declaring that he was going to bed and hanging up the video call. A word of advice: no matter how right you think you are on the facts of the case, you are wrong the second you start acting like a clown.

     The Right condemns these acts of violence but acts as though they aren't part of a broader problem. Just so we're clear: the man representing Potter and Lane is right-wing; the woman who gave Potter a slap on the wrist is right-winger; the men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery and the lawyer representing at least one of them is a right-winger; the judge who signed Amir Locke's death warrant is a right-winger. Get the pattern? Earl Gray is just another deranged, regressive, blood-sucking attorney, and his role in siding with the perpetrators of injustice should not be forgotten.