The verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse has come in. ABC 7 Chicago reports:
KENOSHA, Wis. (WLS) — The jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial has reached a not guilty verdict on five charges against the Antioch, Illinois teen on their fourth day of deliberations.
There were loud outbursts from the crowd gathered outside the Kenosha courthouse as Judge Bruce Schroeder read the jury’s verdict.
Rittenhouse became emotional as the verdict was read, collapsing into his seat and breathing heavily as one of his defense attorneys braced him.
Rittenhouse is now a free man after being cleared of all charges in the shootings that intensified the debates over vigilantism, guns, and racial injustice. Rittenhouse, then 17, repeatedly claimed he fired his AR-15-style rifle to save his own life.
IMO the prosecution screwed up badly. As I believe I’ve said before, based on what I’ve heard of the proceedings, I thought he’d be acquitted on the most serious charges but I’d rather hoped he’d be convicted of something. He’s a guy who shouldn’t have been in that place at that time armed. In other words I agree that he fired in self-defense but I don’t think he was entirely innocent, either. I think that any notion that he’s a hero of some sort is, shall we say, far from hinged.
We’ll need to see if the other shoe drops.
A lot of these cases don’t seem to have any lesser applicable charges. If someone claims they killed in self-defense, they’ve pretty much admitted to murder. And the only lesser charges I saw advanced by the prosecutors was curfew violation and a juvenile misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon.
I did not watch any of the video or read very much fact summations, but for me the big issue is that it was the prosecution’s burden to disprove Rittenhouse acted in lawful self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. That is an extraordinary burden on the prosecutors given a lot of the fuzzy issues that would arise. I don’t know how jurors treat burden of proof framing, but it was in the jury instructions.
Completely agreed. Not only that but one of the prosecution’s witnesses was actually the best witness for the defense. He should never have been put on the stand but I guess then they’d’ve had no case at all.
We live in a time where justice is served through the lens of politics, not through the fair implementation of constitutional law. Here in CA, for instance, people can indiscriminately shoplift items under a $1000 and not be charged with a crime. In Texas an African American kid shot 3 people and was released immediately on $75,000 bail so he could go home and party. Meanwhile, many January 6th protestors have been incarcerated in a DC jail for upwards of 9-10 months, under filthy conditions, solitary confinement, not allowed to see family or legal council, paper-sprayed, medical treatment withheld, and with no due process in sight.
So, in looking at the Rittenhouse verdict, I see his exoneration as far more positive of an outcome than many being encouraged by the vindictive, punitive, posturing contingencies on the left. The Rittenhouse jury, for example, was subjected to intimidation by boisterous crowds outside the courtroom, with threats of violence should he not be found guilty. The judge also received death threats, and the jury pool was followed by a reporter seeking to identify them. Even the factual content, leading up to the trial, was distorted by the media, only to be sorted out through cross examination by the defense. This is the gauntlet social progressive tribes surround legal proceeding with, in hopes to pressurize people and the judicial environment into rendering the type of verdict they want.
I’m pleased the SJWs crowd were not able to accomplish their mission this time.
A surprising epilogue to the Rittenhouse verdict is the crowd’s reaction outside the courthouse. Instead of the ones spewing violence outside during the trial, the one’s gathered to hear the outcome erupted in cheers, with cars passing by honking in approval. I guess the rent-a-mobs had dispersed to other areas to fuel their chaos. But, as one observer put it:
“ It’s a great day because The People have spoken, the mob has lost, and law and order have prevailed!â€
I thought this would probably happen as I dont think there is a charge which completely applies, though I think we need one.
Having thought about this more, and I didnt watch the trial, is there a chance this guy is borderline mentally retarded? I joined the military at 17 and I cant see any situation where I would have been sent alone with a gun into a mob. Just wouldn’t happen. So either he was too stupid to realize he shouldn’t do that or he is almost sociopathically convinced that he knows best and can do whatever he wants. He had a real duty to stay with his group. Letting himself get separated meant you had an immature kid wandering around with a gun by himself. Someone was going to get shot.
He may not go to jail but hope he doesnt end up in a job that requires judgment or responsibility.
Steve
Nice to see the pro-life crowd out celebrating a couple of deaths.
Steve
Sounds like possible reckless endangerment.
If those who were shot were Black, this would have been an entirely different case. I mean as regards media and crowd pressure on the jury to convict. It’s also more likely that Rittenhouse would have been the corpse.
With apologies, I just have to drop this news in:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/19/interior-secretary-haaland-moves-to-rid-us-of-racially-derogatory-place-names-.html
Here in Nebraska we have a place name on the map called,
“Squaw tit butte”
I’ve always imagined settlers, getting ready to camp at sundown, looking west at the land outlined by the setting sun, and musing, “you know what that looks like?”
https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/ne/sheridan-county-31161/summits/squaw-tit-butte-833753/
Funny to me .
It’s satisfying to see dishonest corporate media, the Destructive BLM, and sanctimonious social progressives not be the squeaky wheel winner all the time. BTW, all 3 men who threatened Ritterhouse had long criminal records, one with multiple child abuse allegations.
I’ll repeat what I wrote over at OTB:
I suppose I shouldn’t be, but I am surprised by the number of people who still have the basic facts of the case wrong, probably because the press has done such a terrible job reporting this.
Maybe some of the jurors will speak to the press, but my sense is the dispositive factor was that Rittenhouse was retreating before each of the shootings. The second two shootings (when he was on the ground) are pretty clearly self-defense in my view. I don’t think anyone can deny he wasn’t being attacked.
I’m much less certain about the first shooting of Rosenbaum, but it does seem like Rittenhouse was trying to get away from the situation then too.
And that guy was eff’d up too. Rosenbaum was bipolar, homeless, reportedly off his meds, had spent most of his adult life in prison, and had just been released from the hospital that very day following a suicide attempt. Maybe it’s possible he was looking to die, but regardless, that’s not the kind of person that is likely to act rationally in a chaotic and violent situation.
3 points.
1. If the prosecution wants to, they could appeal the dismissal of procession of a dangerous weapon. That was dismissed based on law I believe, so appealable?
2. Nobody (Rittenhouse, or the protestors) should have been out that night. The precipitating incident (Blake’s shooting) was investigated by the Federal level and the State level with no charges against the officer — as the article in the AP states, not only was self-defense applicable, but there was a real danger Blake was kidnapping kids from his estranged partner.
3. As for “protests”. Its November, the Friday before Thanksgiving. Lets hope “General Winter” is persuasive…
@curiousonlooker. Yeah, I think the possession charge was dismissed as a matter of law and could be appealed. But its a juvenile misdemeanor charge that probably was never intended to do much more than authorize interventions like taking away a kid’s throwing star and requiring them to see a therapist.
I spent more time reading about this charge than anything else, because it was being employed as that “one trick” that would remove his self-defense claims. And I don’t think the language of the statute applied to his situation, possibly because the statute was written poorly.
The prosecution’s dishonesty and ineptitude has been well documented and needs no comment.
I watched more of this than I probably should have, but became especially interested after it became obvious just how grossly dishonest much of media had been in portraying it. Naturally, full understanding of WI law, video tape, testimony and arguments were enlightening and opinion forming. Perhaps more importantly, the legal types most familiar with trials, in particular Jon Turley, made it clear it was an open and shut case of self defense. The entire prosecution case was predicated on the notion that the right of self was lost due to provocation. It failed, and the prosecution felt the need to hide a high resolution video of this, a gross ethical violation.
I am not familiar with any broad based opinion that Rittenhouse behaved wisely going into that situation. He did not. The closest I’ve seen is the offhand observation that he had as much right to be there as the rioters. That misses the point. But we have these low wattage gems:
“…is there a chance this guy is borderline mentally retarded?”
“…but hope he doesnt end up in a job that requires judgment or responsibility.”
“Nice to see the pro-life crowd out celebrating a couple of deaths.”
steve lectures about judgment with this sort of commentary? He beclowns himself once again. And nary a mention of Candidate Biden calling Rittenhouse a white supremacist just to pander for votes. Talk about lack of judgment.
If there is any bright spot here it has to be that the jury was not persuaded by the dishonest and circus atmosphere surrounding the case. Or NBC’s ambulance chasers.
Maybe. Just maybe this will put another nail in the coffin of those who rely on spurious calls of racism at every turn. It is so tiresome and destructive.
I think Andy’s comments are very reasonable, and ones I agree with wholeheartedly. He pointed out the impetuousness of youth, which is a big part of the ingredients comprising Ritterhouseâ€s behavioral response – opposing the forces that were rampaging around that night. Youth usually leads the charge against violence. Also, there had already been a lot of damage done by mobs in the past. Some people, especially younger ones, get to the point where “enough is enough.â€
I know here in Santa Monica, after our business district had been assaulted by unruly mobs, several senior store owners beaten up, our middle class neighborhood went out onto the main Blvd with weapons and stood their ground. Except for graffiti the offending mob got into their SUVs, taking the freeways out of the area.
I just think most people don’t realize how offensive it is to see strangers brutalizing a community for nonsensical reasons – especially when you have politicians and news entities siding with thugs, or not enforcing laws holding them accountable for their destructive actions.
Drew has stepped up to the plate to support sending 17 y/o kids armed and alone out into mobs. If there is anything awful here it is the right wing turning this guy into a hero. The guys who went after him may have been morons but so was the kid. So were his parents if they knew he was going and so was the group who lost track of him. If he had stayed with his group he would have been OK. Also, why are letting the police off the hook? A small for age kid is wandering around with a gun in a crowd? Why didnt they intervene?
Steve
IMO there are no heroes in this story. I think the right is stupid for turning a stupid kid into some kind of hero – for what is anyone’s guess, but it seems to be little more than the fact that the left hates him, so the right is obligated to love him. And the left is stupid in the other direction for turning this stupid kid into some kind of uniquely awful villain, all the while continuing to believe a litany of dumb untruths are actually facts.
The whole political reaction is a farce that speaks to nothing but naked and stupid tribalism – the worst kind.
Hopefully, Steve, the community you reside in will never experience the overwhelming wrath of a mob bent on being lawless without the law intervening.