After one of the jurors asked them to take the 36-pages of jury instructions Judge Bruce Schroeder gave to the seven women and five men who will decide the fate of Kyle Rittenhouse, 18-year-old Rittenhouse is back in the spotlight.
Judge Schroeder granted the request, but he noted to defense and prosecution that the jury instructions which detail the relevant legal points are “very confusing.”
Mark Richards, defense attorney appeared hesitant regarding the request.
“I’m afraid it’s going to be the old dictionary game and they start defining words and things like that, outside research. That’s my concern,” Richards said in court.
Friday was a long day for the defense and prosecution. Judge Schroeder continued to make edits from the bench Monday. Just hours into Tuesday’s first day of deliberations, jurors demanded full copies of each member’s instructions.
Rittenhouse, who shot and murdered two men and injured another during unrest at Kenosha in August last year, faces five charges: first degree reckless homicide; first-degree intentionally homicide; attempted first-degree deliberate homicide; and two counts each of first-degree recklessly endingaffecting safety.
After Rittenhouse’s defense pointed to a subsection of Wisconsin law regarding short-barreled rifles, the judge dropped Monday’s charge of minor in possession. Rittenhouse was also charged for being in Kenosha after 8 p.m. on Monday, but the judge dismissed that charge during trial.
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Jury instructions state that “the defendant must show by evidence that you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act lawfully for self-defense.”
“The law allows the defendant in self-defense to threaten or use force against another if: The defendant believed there was an imminent or actual unlawful interference with the defendant; and the plaintiff believed that the force used or threatened by the defendant was necessary to prevent or end the interference; and Judge Schroeder’s instructions stated.
Wisconsin’s imperfect self-defense system means that beliefs may be valid even if they are wrong.
“You don’t often have that. It’s not reasonable, and it’s definitely not self-defense. However, you have this unreasonable subjective defence,” Neama Rahmani (an ex-federal prosecutor) told Fox News. “That’s why the law is a little more complicated.”
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Jurors must also consider “whether defendant had the opportunity of retreating with safety” or “whether defendant provoked the attack.”
Prosecutors claimed Rittenhouse didn’t have to fire his weapon during the unrest.
“He did a good job, but he didn’t exhaust his duty to withdraw,” Assistant District Attorney James Kraus stated during closing argument.
Rittenhouse, who claimed he went to Kenosha for first aid and to protect businesses from looters was a witness at trial. Rittenhouse testified that Joseph Rosenbaum attacked Rittenhouse first and threatened to kill him.
He stated to jurors last week that he had done nothing wrong. “I defended my self.”
Judge Schroeder also allowed the jury to weigh lesser charges for first degree intentional homicide or attempted first-degree intention homicide.
The 36 pages may seem overwhelming but Rahmani explained that such cases are not uncommon for their voluminous instructions.
Rahmani stated that “Given how many victims and the number of charges it’s really parfor the course.”
Over three days, jurors deliberated for 23 1/2 hours. They will return to courthouse at 9 a.m. CT on Friday.
This report was contributed by The Associated Press.
Source: Fox News
