The jury has begun to consider the murder trial Kyle Rittenhouse After listening to the duel description of Rittenhouse for two weeks.
The prosecutor said that he was a “want to be a soldier” who incited bloodshed; the defense stated that he took self-defense actions after being attacked.
In the summer of 2020, one night in Kenosha protesting racial injustice, the 18-year-old Rittenhouse was convicted of killing two men and wounding a third of them with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. If convicted, he will face life Imprisonment. It was white, just like the ones he shot.
Kyle Rittenhouse: Armed volunteers or civic-conscious teenagers?The jury heard the conflicting final arguments
This case has become the fuse of the debate on guns, protest, vigilance, and law and order in the United States.
After Rittenhouse himself was allowed to draw a note from the lottery drum in a very unusual move to determine which of the 18 people who participated in the trial during the trial will determine his identity, the 12 people The anonymous jury begins to deliberate on fate and this will be alternate.
The resulting jury seems to be overwhelmingly white.
Prosecutors claimed in Monday’s closing statement that Rittenhouse was a man who “want to be a soldier”. He took part in the protest with a semi-automatic rifle and threatened others before killing two men and wounding one. After walking away third like a “Western Hero”.
But Rittenhouse’s lawyers countered that Rittenhouse took self-defense after being ambushed by a “madman”, and he feared that he would take his gun and use it to kill him.
Rittenhouse said he went to Kenosha from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to protect his property from rioters. Black Jacob Black was shot and killed by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse was a former young police cadet who was white like the people he shot.
In the closing statement, the prosecutor Thomas Binger said that Rittenhouse was “want to be a soldier” who was “seeking trouble that night”-repeatedly playing the jury drone video, he said that the video depicts Rittenhouse Si pointed AR-style weapons at the demonstrators.
“This is a provocation. This is the beginning of this incident,” the prosecutor declared. “When you are the person with a gun, when you are the person who creates danger, when you are the person who provokes others, you lose the right to self-defense.”
If the 18-year-old Rittenhouse is found guilty, he will face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment The most serious allegation He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, which is the highest count of murder in Wisconsin.
Binger focused his attention on the killing of the 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum. The first person to be shot that night was shot, and the following were shot. The prosecutor repeatedly called it a murder, called it unreasonable, and reminded the jurors that Rittenhouse testified that he knew Rosenbaum was unarmed.
Binge also stated that there was no video to support the defense’s claim that Rosenbaum had threatened to kill Rittenhouse, and that Rittenhouse could have escaped instead of shooting.
Binger also disputed Rosenbaum’s claim that he tried to grab Rittenhouse’s rifle, saying that when the first shot occurred, the rifle was not within reach. Binger argued that once Rosenbaum was injured, he could not take away the gun strapped to Rittenhouse because he had a broken pelvis and fell to the ground. Rittenhouse continued to fire and fired what the prosecutor called a “fatal blow” into Rosenbaum’s back.
“I think we also agree that we shouldn’t let 17-year-old children run around on our streets with AR-15, because this is exactly what happened,” Binger said.
In his own closing statement, defense attorney Mark Richards called Rosenbaum a “lunatic” and he “went to make trouble that night” and pursued Rittenhouse for no reason.
“Mr. Rosenbaum was shot because he was chasing my client and intended to kill him, picking up his gun and carrying out his threats,” Richards said, adding that Rittenhouse was being shot. The gun had never been pointed at him before the hunt: “This didn’t happen.”
Richards said that the magnified image that the prosecutor said showed that Rittenhouse had pointed a gun at the protester was a “deceptive scam” and could not prove anything.
After killing Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse shot and killed 26-year-old Anthony Huber while attempting to pass through the crowd and wounded 28-year-old Geki Grosskrutz. Rittenhouse testified that Huber hit him with a skateboard and Grosskruts hit him with his own gun-this statement was largely confirmed by the video and Grosskruts himself.
Prosecutors said Huber, Grosskreutz and others in the crowd tried to stop what they thought were active shooters.
When it was all over, Rittenhouse walked away, like “the hero of the Western movie-he doesn’t care about anything he just did,” Binger said.
However, the defense stated that Rittenhouse was attacked by “thugs.” Richards accused the prosecutor of using the term “active shooter” against Rittenhouse because “the word has a deep meaning.”
Supporters praise Rittenhouse as a hero who opposes lawlessness; the enemy calls him a righteous policeman.
Earlier Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed an allegation Possess dangerous weapons The misdemeanor committed by a person under the age of 18 seems to be one of the most likely convictions. It can be sentenced to a maximum of nine months in prison.
The defense argued that Wisconsin’s law had an exception related to the length of a weapon’s barrel. After the prosecutor admitted that Rittenhouse’s rifle was not a short barrel, the judge dismissed the charges.
Perhaps recognizing the weakness of their case, the prosecutor asked the judge to let the jury Consider a few lower fees If they acquit him for the original sin. Schroeder agreed to do this because he submitted about 36 pages of legal notes to the jury.
In his instructions, the judge said to accept Rittenhouse’s Claim self-defense, The jury must find that he believes he has been illegally threatened and that the force he used is reasonable and necessary.
As the verdict approaches, Governor Tony Evers stated that 500 National Guard members will be prepared to perform duty in Kenosha if the local law enforcement agency requests it.
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