By: ShelbinMS
Protesters from Black Lives Matter take a knee as they gather outside the US Embassy in London on September 11, 2020, the day of a trial hearing of the four police officers charged with the murder of George Floyd in the US. (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)By Pramod Thomas
WITH the launch of Court TV on Wednesday(16) on Sky, people in the UK can watch the trial of four police officers in the US accused of killing George Floyd.
Reports said that the coverage will air at primetime in the UK to allow for the time difference between the UK and US.
Court TV is planning content for the UK to explain the differences between the two countries’ justice systems, including why cameras are allowed in courtrooms in the US, but not in the UK.
Jonathan Katz, president of the Katz Network, promoters of Court TV, claimed that there is nothing like Court TV.
“We anticipate viewers in the UK will embrace having a front-row seat to American criminal justice.”
The US justice system allows trials to be broadcast live, which Court TV does with added hype and expert views.
Floyd’s death on 25 May triggered protests and riots across the US and led to demonstrations by the Black Lives Matter movement across the world, including Britain.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with murder and manslaughter, while three others – Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao – face charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
They appeared in court on 11 September for a hearing on the prosecution’s request to hold a joint trial, a defence request to move the trial out of Minneapolis, and other issues.
Court TV ran for 27 years from 1991 in the US. It was relaunched two years ago by Katz Networks and the EW Scripps Company.
According to reports, another forthcoming case on Court TV centres around three white men accused of murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was shot while jogging through his south Georgia neighbourhood.
Earlier this year, the British government announced plans to allow judges to be filmed passing sentence in the High Court and Crown Court. The Crown Court (recording and broadcasting) Order 2020 came into force in June.
