On Friday, a jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of the five charges. He was accused of homicide and other charges in the killing of two people and the shooting of another during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer. Rittenhouse said he acted self-defense.
Upon hearing the verdict, Rittenhouse, 18, cried, fell to the floor and then hugged one of his attorneys in the Kenosha County Circuit court, According to the Associated Press,
Over the course of four days, a jury of 12 members deliberated for over 25 hours. CNN reported.
“This is over. The prosecution cannot appeal. A not guilty verdict is final. So this will be the end of the state prosecution of Kyle Rittenhouse,”Elie Honig, CNN legal analyst said.
Judge Bruce Schroeder stated to jurors that he “couldn’t have asked for a better jury to work with”CNN reports that the trial lasted for three weeks.
“I think without commenting on your verdict… the verdict themselves, just in terms of your attentiveness and the cooperation that you gave to us justifies the confidence that the founders of our country placed in you,”Schroeder stated.
Rittenhouse, from nearby Antioch, Illinois, was charged with reckless homicide in the slaying of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and intentional homicide in the death of Anthony Huber, 26, on Aug. 25, 2020, during protests over the shooting death of Jacob Blake, a Black man who had been shot by a white Kenosha police officer, NBC News reported.
Rittenhouse would have faced a mandatory life sentence if found guilty and convicted of first-degree intentional homicide. The verdict was delivered on the 15th day. FOX News reported.
