Ethan Week 7- Kyle Rittenhouse- Self-Defense

     “Legal Experts Say Kyle Rittenhouse Has Strong Self-Defense Claim”, was written on Oct 28, 2021, by ​​Amanda Prestigiacomo from the Daily Wire. This article discusses the ongoing trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old male at the time of the shooting, who is being charged with murder. Last August during a protest-turned-riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse shot two men and injured a third. After a verbal confrontation, Rittenhouse was chased after by a shirtless man identified as Joseph Rosenbaum, who Rittenhouse ended up shooting after a gunshot was fired and after Rosenbaum lunged to grab Rittenhouse’s gun. Immediately after, Rittenhouse was chased down the street by a group of rioters attempting to assault him. One man approached Rittenhouse with a pistol, so he shot him in the arm, and another man tried to hit him in the face with a skateboard, so he shot and killed him. This entire sequence of events was caught on video from numerous angles, including an overhead view from the FBI. Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty in January and the trial began last Monday. His defense is arguing that he used acceptable self-defense precautions, while the prosecution is claiming he started the fight by insulting Rosenbaum, trying to initiate conflict. Ultimately, it appears that Rosenbaum will walk free and not be convicted of murder because he has a strong case for self-defense. 

    In my opinion, I do not believe Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty of murder. I have seen the footage myself from various perspectives of the confrontation and this clearly seems to be a self-defense case. He did not appear to have malicious intent and was forced to protect himself after being attacked and surrounded by a vicious mob. Rittenhouse was originally armed to protect his community from rioters and provide medical aid to anyone harmed, as he stated on camera a couple of hours before the incident took place. He was so restrained that he had actually been pepper-sprayed by a rioter before the shooting and did not attempt to harm anyone. Only when he was forced to protect himself did he engage in necessary violent force. Moreover, in terms of obtaining a dangerous weapon under the age of 18, I believe that Rittenhouse should be charged for that, although he is not guilty of murder. I believe Rittenhouse will win as the prosecution seemed to only benefit Rittenhouse and was extremely weak. Finally, I did not find the information to be biased as the author mainly focussed on the facts of the case and discussed/quoted different points of view from other news sources. Do you think Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty of murder?


*Legal charge issued- “five felony counts and one misdemeanor, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.”


https://www.dailywire.com/news/legal-experts-say-kyle-rittenhouse-has-strong-self-defense-claim

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 16, 2021 at 3:39 PM

    Hi Ethan. I've also been watching the Kyle Rittenhouse case a lot and have just been amazed by the fact that it is still in court. It is clear that the prosecution has no case and has even used the fact that Rittenhouse plays Call of Duty to say that he is a violent person that may want to shoot people, which is just a ridiculous argument to link shooter video game to real life. There have been many other ridiculous arguments used like that, so like I said, I don't even think this should be a case as it was clearly self defense.

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  2. AnonymousDecember 1, 2021 at 7:13 AM

    Hey Ethan, To be honest I did not really follow the Rittenhouse case much to the last two to three days and the decision was coming out. Though this was an incredibly bad situation due the violence and loss of life, I do agree it was self-defense. Kyle Rittenhouse had absolutely no place being there and it was a horrible idea to be there with a massive rifle as a 17 year old from a different state but he was attacked and ultimately had to defend himself.

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