Wisconsin criminal defence lawyer Daniel Adams, who closely followed the trial, called the verdict “very dramatic but not entirely surprising”. The prosecution portrayed Rittenhouse as a reckless vigilante who provoked the violent encounters and showed no remorse for the men he shot with his AR-15-style rifle. The violence followed the police shooting of a Black man named Jacob Blake, who was left paralysed from the waist down. They said he was a civic-minded teen who carried a medical kit in addition to his gun and was in Kenosha to protect private property after several nights of unrest in the city south of Milwaukee. The defence argued that Rittenhouse had been repeatedly attacked and had shot the men in fear for his life. In reaching its verdict after more than three days of deliberations, the jury contended with duelling narratives from the defence and prosecution that offered vastly different portrayals of the teenager's actions on the night of the shootings. Be armed, be dangerous and be moral." Repeatedly attacked US congressman Madison Cawthorn, a Republican representative from North Carolina, said on Instagram: "Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty my friends. Some Black activists said on Friday the US police and courts would have treated the teenager more harshly if he had been Black.īut conservatives saw the verdict as a validation of the US Constitution's Second Amendment, which grants Americans the right to bear arms. The thorny issue of race also hung over the case, although Rittenhouse and the men he shot were all white. to go free," the Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement. "It is unconscionable our justice system would allow an armed vigilante. The verdict was greeted with outrage by many on the political left and celebrated by gun-rights supporters. "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken," Biden said.Įlsewhere reactions showed the country's deep partisan divisions. US President Joe Biden, who during last year's election campaign tweeted a video that appeared to link Rittenhouse to white supremacists, said on Friday he supported the jury's decision and urged Americans to react with calm. Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and fired a bullet that tore a chunk off the arm of Gaige Grosskreutz, 28. "We are all so very happy that Kyle can live his life as a free and innocent man, but in this whole situation there are no winners, there are two people who lost their lives and that's not lost on us at all," David Hancock, a spokesperson for the Rittenhouse family, told Reuters. By early evening, the crowd had thinned to a handful of people and there was no sign of disturbances in the city. His mother also wept.Īmid a heavy law enforcement presence, several dozen protesters lined the steps outside the courthouse after the verdict was read, some carrying placards in support of Rittenhouse and others expressing disappointment. Rittenhouse broke down sobbing after the verdict and collapsed to the floor before being helped back into his chair, his hands shaking. Jurors found Rittenhouse, 18, not guilty on all charges: two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide for wounding a third man, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety in protests marred by arson, rioting and looting on August 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. An American jury acquitted teenager Kyle Rittenhouse on Friday of murder in the fatal shooting of two men during racial justice protests in a decision that re-ignited fierce debate about gun rights and the boundaries of self-defence in the United States.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |