As the Kyle Rittenhouse trial winds down, all eyes are on the jurors who are expected to determine his fate on multiple charges next week in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Judge Bruce Schroeder sent jurors home for the weekend on Thursday after the defence rested its case. Mr Rittenhouse’s attorneys and prosecutors convened in court again on Friday morning to discuss motions and jury instructions.
Closing arguments are expected to take place on Monday, and Judge Schroeder has instructed both sides to keep things brief. The defence also has a pending motion for a mistrial with prejudice, which the judge said he would take under advisement.
Should that motion be denied, legal experts say it’s impossible to predict how long the jury will take to come to a verdict after reviewing evidence from eight days of testimony.
Mr Rittenhouse’s attorneys have argued that he acted in self-defence when he shot three men during racial justice protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha on 25 August 2020. Two of the men, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, were killed and the third, Gaige Grosskreutz, was wounded.
Mr Rittenhouse took the stand on Wednesday and described how he feared for his life when the men attacked him. He said he didn’t mean to kill anyone but fired his AR-15 to protect himself.
Wisconsin’s self-defence law permits use deadly force only if “necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm”. Jurors will decide whether Rittenhouse believed he was under that level of threat and whether hat belief was reasonable.
The prosecution has painted Mr Rittenhouse as an instigator of the violence on the night of the shootings and highlighted that he was not legally allowed to carry his AR-15 because he was just 17 at the time.
Mr Rittenhouse faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges against him, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree attempted intentional homicide.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to allow for the jury to consider lesser charges against Mr Rittenhouse on the counts involving the shootings of Mr Huber and Mr Grosskreutz. The move would lower the burden of proof for conviction.
Eighteen jurors have heard the case but just 12 will deliberate. Judge Schroeder will draw names to determine the final panel after closing arguments.
The Kenosha County Sheriff released a statement about ‘verdict preparedness’ on Thursday, saying the trial is being closely monitored because “We recognize that some varying opinions and feelings revolve around the trial that may cause concerns.”
Police in Chicago, about 65 miles south of Kenosha, are also preparing for unrest by cancelling days off for all sworn personnel.
