Vocabulary: Acquitted (A decision in court of not guilty), prosecution, guilty, and innocent.
On November 19, a jury in Kenosha, Wisconsin acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges. The previous summer, while racial justice protests were transpiring all across America, Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, traveled across two states to “defend property.” Why he decided to defend property in a state he is not from is still unknown. After the lot he’s defending is cleared of protesters by police, he moved to another lot where he was met by three men. According to Rittenhouse, they began to threaten and chase, and that is when he felt the need to defend himself. Mr. Rosenbaum was the first person Rittenhouse shot. Rosenbaum had been chasing him through a car lot, and Rittenhouse shot him four times. Rittenhouse then tried to go to the police, but Mr. Huber and Mr. Grosskreutz followed him. According to video evidence provided at the trial, Mr. Huber hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Mr. Grosskreutz was aiming a gun at him. Rittenhouse shot one in the arm and killed the other. 1
Rittenhouse’s argument is that he was acting in self-defense, therefore, he was allowed to shoot them because they were threatening him. The prosecution also faced some struggles in the trial with witnesses accidentally helping the defense. The jury deliberated for nearly 27 hours and in the end said that yes, Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Now it’s your turn. Do you think he was innocent or guilty? Fill out this form and/or drop a comment below.
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