Attorney General Keith Ellison kept a diary in 2021 as he directed the prosecution of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Tuesday, the world will be able to read those diaries.
"Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence," will be published by 12 Books, with a foreword by Floyd's brother Philonise and blurbs from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Ben Crump, who represented the Floyd family. Ellison will speak about the 304-page book and his work at Macalester College's John B. Davis Lecture Hall at 7 p.m. May 25.
The book is described as a "spoke-by-spoke" look at parties involved in the attempt to end the chain of violence, including prosecutors, police unions, activists and the media. Ellison told the New York Times that he worked on "Break the Wheel" in the early hours of the morning, prior to reporting for work, hoping to create "a historical account and a guide to officials when faced with a case of police misconduct."
According to the Times, Ellison's book is heavily focused on the process of jury selection, which resulted in what the author calls "the single most diverse jury I had ever empaneled."
Ellison was re-elected as attorney general last fall by just 21,000 votes. Chauvin is currently serving his sentence in Tucson, Ariz.
