By: Joel Irving The tragic death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer ignited a global firestorm, forcing a reckoning with entrenched issues of race and justice. In the aftermath, commentator Candace Owens offered a contentious assessment, largely focusing on Floyd's past and questioning his character, thereby, in the view of many, deflecting from the actions of law enforcement on that fateful day. Owens declared George Floyd "neither a martyr or a hero," pointing to his criminal record and suggesting his death was attributable to fentanyl rather than the officer's actions – a claim that starkly contrasts the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's ruling of homicide due to "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." This rebuttal is not to canonize George Floyd, nor is it to ignore the complexities of any human life. Instead, it is to refocus the lens on the conduct of the state's repres...