For many black Americans, Kyle RittenhouseThe acquittal of all charges by the Wisconsin jury on Friday confirmed their belief in two judicial systems: one for whites and the other for blacks.
Rittenhouse, the two people he killed and the one he injured were both white, but the case has been From the beginning, it was related to race issues and the criminal justice system.
Activists have previously pointed out that the difference between the police’s handling of the Rittenhouse case and the Jacob Black case is that the black man Jacob Black was shot and killed by the Kenosha white police in August 2020, triggering the city’s Protests, protests became destructive and violent.
Video clips played during the trial showed that Rittenhouse ran towards the police with a rifle and continued to cross the cordon under the police’s instructions. Early the next morning, he surrendered to the police in Antioch, Illinois.
Although Kenosha prosecutors filed a lawsuit Serious allegations could imprison Rittenhouse for life, The criminal trial also hit many activists Very courteous to the defendant.
“You can really smell and see the potential systemic racism in the judicial system and the police system,” Jacob Black’s uncle Justin Black said after the verdict.
Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted by the jury in the Kenosha shooting, resulting in 2 deaths and 1 injury
Black activists in Kenosha said that the verdict shows that they need to continue to promote changes in their cities and states—local elections, education, and policing.
“You can’t tell me that these institutions are not sick,” said Kyle Johnson, the organizer of the Black Leaders Group Community. “You can’t tell me that these institutions are not tainted by racism.”
Many legal experts have stated that Rittenhouse A strong argument for self-defense under Wisconsin law And can be acquitted.The prosecutor had to overcome Rittenhouse’s claim that he was worried about his life and Some state’s own witnesses Make this more difficult.
Nevertheless, Judge Bruce Schroeder’s handling of the case Under censorship In several respects, including before the start, he said that the person shot by Rittenhouse cannot be called a “victim” in the trial-this is a long-term rule in his court. Schroeder also applauded the veterans. Just as a defense witness who had served in the military was about to testify, he asked Rittenhouse to draw the number of jurors to fire the alternates-this is also his long-standing practice.
Local lawyers described most of the 75-year-old judge’s rulings and methods as typical practices of his courts and within the scope of the law, while Rittenhouse’s lawyer Mark Richards said that he “has never seen this before. Few things”.
But others questioned whether Schroeder’s decision affected the jury.
“From the very beginning, this case opened the curtain of serious loopholes in our judicial system-from the serious prejudice often and unabashedly displayed by judges to witnessing Rittenhouse’s crimes but doing nothing. The indifference of officials,” said Ben Kremp, a civil rights lawyer who has represented the families of Jacob Black, Trevon Martin, and Ahmed Abery. “If we talk about a black man, the conversation and the result will be very different.”
Richards said Schroeder was known for his severe penalties, but “as a defendant, you will get a fair trial.”
“If we lose, we know what will happen,” Richards told reporters after the verdict. “So it doesn’t matter whether it is the judge or the other judges. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Soon after Rittenhouse was found not guilty, Frankie Cooks of Kenosha stood on the court steps and was not angry at the result. She said she could not be sure that the juror made a mistake.
Cooks is black, and she complained that she had never heard that Wisconsin’s self-defense laws benefited people in her community.
“If Rittenhouse was black, he would not be acquitted,” Cooks said.
After arguing that he was worried about his life, the defense adjourned the Kyle Rittenhouse trial
For Cooks, this is personal. She said her 20-year-old son Tyrese Sherrod was accused of firing at several men who she said attacked him at the Kenosha gas station in October. According to Kenosha News, he faces five felony charges, including first-degree reckless endangering safety and first-degree reckless injury.
According to the complaints and videos in the case, at least one person who shot Sherrod earlier shot him. According to reports, after Sherrod fired about 10 shots, he fled the scene.
“I want to see them deal with his case-the case of a black child-as they deal with this case,” she said. “I want to see this.”
Rittenhouse’s acquittal has raised concerns that protesters against racial injustice and other reasons will be threatened by right-wing reasons that have regarded Rittenhouse as a hero after the shooting. Pastor Jesse Jackson, who has long served as a civil rights leader and activist, told the Associated Press that this shows that “this is the open season for human rights demonstrators.”
“The worries about this sentence were shot by a policeman from behind because (Jacob) Black (Jacob) Black (Jacob) became a problem at first. He was shot seven times from behind. He was in a wheelchair today and was permanently paralyzed. The policeman is walking on the streets of Kenosha today,” Jackson said.
Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Michael Tarm and Mike Householder in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Aaron Morrison in New York contributed.
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