Only in the US. The anti-racism protests that took place on August 2020 in Kenosha Wisconsin, and which were unleashed in response the brutal murder of Jacob Blake, an African American man shot by police seven times, ended with two people dead and one injured.
During the protests, a 17-year-old boy, identified as Kyle Rittenhouse, was arrested for the deaths of two protesters. At first it was thought that Rittenhouse had fired to protect businesses that could have been looted, since the young man seemed to have quietly withdrawn from the scene before the gentle gaze of police, who did not arrest him after he had fatally shot several people.
http:/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAy0–Z7ijs&t=199s
Unanimous verdict
After an eight day trial, the jury in the Rittenhouse case endorsed the “legitimate defense” argument raised by the young man’s lawyers. On account of five charges, including murder, Rittenhouse was found not guilty. Rittenhouse seemed to almost faint and emit whimpers of male hysteria upon hearing the unanimous verdict. According to the local press, there is no possibility of appeal, thus Rittenhouse is a free man from here on out, having gotten away with murdering two people as a minor.
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US justice is designed in such a way that it is difficult to convict a defendant, since the prosecutor’s office must prove that a person is “guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.” This has generated a debate over the US legal system and its nuances. In view of the ruling in the Rittenhouse case, the prosecutor was unable to prove the former’s guilt. According to Spanish newspaper El País, the defense played the “legitimate defense” card and won.
Just before deliberation, the judge let the members of the jury go with the following statement: “The resolution of this case falls on your shoulders.” Some authorities fear the jury’s decision could spark a wave of protests in Kenosha and in the rest of the country. Only in the USA.
“I did nothing wrong, I just defended myself,” pleaded Rittenhouse while sobbing during the trial. Rittenhouse assured that he had fired the assault rifle after finding himself pursued and attacked by three men who were also white. But, according to prosecutor Thomas Binger, the defendant was “a chaos tourist” who was “seeking excitement” and “willingly and consciously put himself in a dangerous situation.”
For his part, President Joe Biden stated that: “I agree with the jury’s decision. The jury system works.”
Meanwhile, in a statement released via a spokesperson, former Republican President Donald Trump declared: “congratulations to Kyle Rittenhouse for being declared INNOCENT,” adding: “If that’s not self-defense, nothing is.”
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Reactions on social media
Kyle Rittenhouse, el joven que mató a dos hombres en una protesta de Black Lives Matter, fue absuelto en EEUU El fallo divide al país: Biden lamentó el fallo y Trump lo festejó. https://t.co/e6abmIiyNM
— Carlos Montero (@CMonteroOficial) November 20, 2021
Reminder: the system is working exactly as it is meant to. The system was always meant to protect and uphold white supremacy.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) November 19, 2021
Featured image: Kyle Rittenhouse with an Automatic Rifle filmed during the 2020 protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Photo: Associated Press
(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/KW
Victoria Torres
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