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https://www.npr.org/2021/11/19/1057288807/kyle-rittenhouse-acquitted-all-charges-verdict

Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted of all charges in the trial over killing 2
in Kenosha
Updated November 19, 20211:47 PM ET
Becky Sullivan

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, looks over to his attorneys as the jury is
dismissed for the day during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse
on Thursday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Sean Krajacic/Pool/Getty Images

Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who fatally shot two people during the
unrest last year in Kenosha, Wis., has been acquitted of all charges in
a criminal trial that divided the nation over questions about gun
rights, violence at racial justice protests and vigilantism.

The verdict, delivered Friday, follows a highly-watched trial in which
prosecutors struggled to overcome Rittenhouse's claim that he acted in
self defense on the night of the shootings.

In two weeks of testimony and evidence — led by a day-long turn on the
stand by Rittenhouse himself — defense attorneys were able convince the
jury of 12 that the night of Aug. 25, 2020, was filled with deadly peril
for the then-17-year-old.

Jurors deliberated for roughly 27 hours over the course of four days
before pronouncing Rittenhouse not guilty on all five counts:
first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide,
first-degree attempted intentional homicide and two counts of
first-degree reckless endangerment. The jury was also asked to consider
lesser versions of several counts, but were not swayed.

Rittenhouse armed himself with an AR-15-style rifle on a night of unrest
in Kenosha sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old
Black man who was left paralyzed after an encounter with a white
officer. Rittenhouse, who lived across the state line in Antioch, Ill.,
testified that he intended to act as a medic and help protect private
property.

But the night spiraled out of control. In a series of chaotic encounters
with protesters, documented thoroughly by photograph and video,
Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26,
and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, then 26.

During the trial, Rittenhouse said he feared for his life in all three
cases. Rosenbaum, he said, had chased him and was grabbing for his rifle.

"Mr. Rosenbaum was chasing me. He said he was going to kill me if he got
me alone. I was alone. I was running from him. I pointed it at him, and
it didn't stop him from continuing to chase me," Rittenhouse testified.

Afterward, as he ran toward police, others, including Huber and
Grosskreutz, began to chase him. Huber struck him with a skateboard,
visual evidence confirms. Grosskreutz was holding a loaded Glock pistol,
which, he admitted during cross-examination, was pointed at Rittenhouse,
though he said that was unintentional.

Prosecutors argued that Rittenhouse was responsible for creating those
situations. He chose to bring a deadly rifle into a dangerous
environment, they said, and chose to stay there even after being
separated from a friend.

Rosenbaum was unarmed, they pointed out, yet Rittenhouse shot him four
times, all as Rosenbaum was falling to the ground. Grosskreutz testified
that he feared for his own life, given the presence of Rittenhouse's
rifle, and was trying to disarm Rittenhouse, not kill him. Asked on the
witness stand what was going through his mind during their encounter,
Grosskreutz replied, "that I was going to die."

But prosecutors also made repeated missteps, prompting defense lawyers
to request a mistrial on two occasions, the first over Assistant
District Attorney Thomas Binger questioning Rittenhouse's right to
remain silent and a second over a drone video that prosecutors had
inadvertently compressed when sharing it with defense lawyers.

In the end, jurors were ultimately persuaded by Rittenhouse's version of
events.

"Some might have had concerns about the decisions that brought Mr.
Rittenhouse to Kenosha that evening and how he reacted. However, unless
the state proves beyond a reasonable doubt that this wasn't reasonable
and that he didn't believe that he needed to use deadly force to defend
himself, then the only proper verdict is acquittal," said Chris Zachar,
a criminal defense attorney based in La Crosse, Wis., who was not
involved in the trial.

Rittenhouse could still be sued for damages in a civil trial, where the
burden proof is lower than in criminal trials.

The case sparked passionate reaction by the American public since the
moment Rittenhouse fired his rifle that night.

Nearly every aspect of the case touched on some of the country's most
contentious fault lines: Second Amendment rights, self-defense, violence
at racial justice protests, vigilantism and perceptions of how police
and the justice system treat white people and people of color differently.

Supporters saw Rittenhouse as a champion of gun rights who bravely
stepped in to protect a community from what they considered lawless
riots. Opponents instead saw an irresponsible vigilante who came to
Kenosha to play dress-up as a police officer — a "chaos tourist," as
Binger put it.

"What comes to mind is the comment that, 'How do you stop an active
shooter? Good guys with guns.' In this case, you've got Mr. Rittenhouse,
who fires off four shots at somebody who's unarmed and then continues to
shoot people," said Zachar. "Who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy in
that scenario? No, nobody really knows."

For the past two weeks, the trial has commanded the nation's attention —
thanks in no small part to the fact that nearly every minute of the
proceedings has been broadcast widely on TV and livestream video.
Everyone from LeBron James to Marjorie Taylor Greene weighed in before
the verdict.

More Stories From NPR

LAW
The Rittenhouse jurors watch video, but that can't be counted on to
prevent bias

On 11/19/2021 11:31 AM, a425couple wrote:
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> https://www.npr.org/2021/11/19/1057288807/kyle-rittenhouse-acquitted-all-charges-verdict
>
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> Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted of all charges in the trial over killing 2
> in Kenosha
> Updated November 19, 20211:47 PM ET
> Becky Sullivan
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https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/kyle-rittenhouse-verdict-biased-trial-coverage-msnbc-cnn
Kyle Rittenhouse verdict makes sense if you ignore biased trial coverage
on MSNBC, CNN
MSNBC convicted Rittenhouse in the court of public opinion. But in a
Kenosha court of law, the jury had the final say