Kyle Rittenhouse The night he testified that he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha—in his two-week murder trial, he cried when talking about the first shooting and seemed unable to continue—this was the most fascinating thing. One of the eye-catching moments.
This may also be the most effective part of the three-day defense case and may shake any juror’s tendency to sympathize with the 18-year-old, who claimed to have killed two men and wounded one in self-defense.
Prosecutors said that the main reason for the violence was that after a white policeman shot and killed a black man Jacob Black, Rittenhouse decided to take his rifle to a city that was damaged by protests. Kenosha.
Rittenhouse was 17 years old at the time and was charged with multiple crimes, including intentional and reckless murder and possession of dangerous weapons by minors. Both he and the people he shot were white.
Here is how the defense’s statement proceeded, which was heard on Thursday:
How was Rittenhouse’s testimony?
The most important decision of the defense was to get Rittenhouse to stand in the stands and let him tell the jurors what he thought when he shot.
The Colorado lawyer Andrew Branca, who wrote the book “Self-Defense Law: Principles,” said on his blog about the trial that the decision was “a high-risk bet for the defense, and there is always Take away the risk of failure” from the mouth of victory. “
Defendants claiming to defend themselves do not have to testify in court. But they are under pressure to do so, because their thinking when using deadly force is crucial to determining guilt.
The risk is that Rittenhouse will be tripped, panicked, or irritated by aggressive questions from the prosecutor, and he will blurt out something that hurts his case. But for most of his approximately six hours of testimony, he was calm and answered questions politely and concisely. He did not languish, nor did he fight back.
The chief prosecutor Thomas Binger put pressure on Rittenhouse and asked if he really intended to kill all three people. “I’m not going to kill them,” Rittenhouse responded. “I intend to stop those who attack me.”
Some legal experts said that a few minutes after his testimony, he showed obvious emotions, which caused the judge to announce a brief adjournment, which may help his career with the jurors.
“There is a public debate about the sincerity of Rittenhouse’s tears,” said Los Angeles lawyer Louis J. Shapiro. “If the jury thinks they are true, then it bodes well for Rittenhouse.”
Blanca previously told the Associated Press that he believed Rittenhouse should be acquitted, and he said Rittenhouse’s testimony went well for the defense.
What else stands out in the defense case?
The defense made a lot of achievements even before they started introducing them to the jurors. Some witnesses from the country apparently helped the defense.
An obvious example is that one of the prosecution’s earliest witnesses, cameraman Richie McGinniss, described the first person killed by Rittenhouse. Joseph Rosenbaum rushed to Rittenhouse, screaming “F—you!” and rushed to Rittenhouse. House’s rifle.
It was also the prosecutor who input a large amount of video evidence to support the defense’s view that Rittenhouse was being hunted down when he shot Rosenbaum, and a moment later, Anthony Huber and Gage Grosskrutz were also Was hunted down. Their video showed Gross Kruitz holding a gun as he approached Rittenhouse.
Chicago defense lawyer Joe Lopez (Joe Lopez) said he did not believe that the prosecutor’s fault was to summon these witnesses. He said that prosecutors usually want to be evidence that is beneficial to the defense, rather than let the defense do it.
What else has the defense done?
Since so many key issues were raised and discussed during the cross-examination in the week-long case in the state, the defense had nothing to do.
In addition to letting Rittenhouse appear in court for most of Wednesday, the defense also called a series of witnesses to show that he did not show aggressiveness or malice that night, and helped clear the graffiti that day and put out the fire at night.
After arguing that he was worried about his life, the defense adjourned the Kyle Rittenhouse trial
As the prosecutor tried to get the jurors to pay attention to all that Rittenhouse did, from the time he decided to come to Kenosha with the gun, the defense tried to lead them to the microcosm. A defense expert was on Thursday at 2 minutes 55 From the moment Rosenbaum started chasing Rittenhouse.
“Self-defense is what the defense wants the jury to have in the jury room,” Shapiro said. “Not why Rittenhouse doesn’t mind his own business” and the question of staying away from protest. “
© 2021 Canadian Press
