Kyle Rittenhouse is going to walk.
This is my conclusion as I emerge, blinking in the light, from the rabbit hole I’ve been down all week of self-defense law, jury-instruction language, charging documents and online, frame-by-frame analysis of the videos of the tragic shootings in Kenosha during street protests on Aug. 25.
Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, has been charged with 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, in the shooting deaths of two protesters and the wounding of a third. The homicide charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 65 years.
Those of us on the left who are already outraged that it’s legal for civilians to openly carry military-style assault weapons in public spaces should begin now to brace for the inevitable resolution of this case.
Kyle Rittenhouse is probably going to walk.
He’s going to plead self-defense — his lawyers have already signaled as much — and from what I’ve seen, read and heard, I predict he’s going to be acquitted on the most serious charges.
– Eric Zorn in Here’s why Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen shooting suspect in Kenosha killings, is likely to get off