“Mr. Rosenbaum was shot due to the fact that he was chasing my client,” Mr. Richards said, “since he was going to kill him, take his weapon, and carry out the risks he made.”
On the day of the shootings, Mr. Rittenhouse traveled to downtown Kenosha, which had actually emerged in protests that included looting and arson after a white policeman, Rusten Sheskey, shot Jacob Blake, a Black homeowner. Mr. Rittenhouse has actually stated he went to Kenosha to safeguard property and provide medical treatment, however things rapidly got violent after someone near him fired a gun.The day of closing arguments began with a jam-packed courtroom full of viewers, the first time in the 11-day trial that every seat in the courtroom was taken. Hannah Gittings, the sweetheart of Anthony Huber, the second guy who was shot and eliminated by Mr. Rittenhouse, sat beside Kariann Swart, Mr. Rosenbaum’s fiancée. Wendy Rittenhouse, Mr. Rittenhouse’s mom, sat in her usual seat in the courtroom, together with her 2 daughters.Judge Bruce Schroeder of Kenosha County Circuit Court and the lawyers debated the language of voluminous jury instructions on 6 criminal charges that Mr. Rittenhouse had actually originally dealt with. The judge dismissed the least serious of the charges, a misdemeanor charge of illegally having an unsafe weapon as a minor. Wisconsin is an open carry state where it is legal for adults to carry firearms freely, but state law restricts minors from possessing guns other than in minimal circumstances.The judge sided with Mr. Rittenhouse’s defense lawyers, who argued that the language of the state law does not restrict a 17-year-old from carrying a rifle with a long barrel, as district attorneys had actually contended.In a win for the prosecution, the judge told jurors to weigh some less severe charges in addition to the most major counts they have actually been asked to consider. Providing jurors guidelines on lesser charges can be considerable, legal specialists state, due to the fact that the lesser charges use jurors a course to jeopardize if they disagree on the most serious offenses.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/us/rittenhouse-trial-closing-arguments.html