A mistrial could lead to another trial, where he'd be convicted. So I doubt that he'd be able to avoid prison. From Google:
In the event of a mistrial, the defendant is not convicted, but neither is the defendant acquitted. An acquittal results from a not guilty verdict and cannot be appealed by the prosecution, overturned by the judge, or retried. When there is a mistrial, however, the case may be retried.
The problem's that the case was going really well for the prosecution and not quite so well for the defense, so a mistrial would benefit Chauvin.







