NewsNational News

Actions

Day 3 of jury deliberations in Rittenhouse trial ends with no verdict

Kyle Rittenhouse
Posted at 6:36 AM, Nov 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-18 17:23:39-05

Jurors in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse did not return a verdict on Thursday. It was the third full day of jury deliberations.

Prior to being dismissed, a member of the jury asked if they could take the jury instructions home. The judge approved the request but reminded jurors that they can't talk about the case.

Rittenhouse, 18, faces murder charges in connection with a series of August 2020 shootings during anti-police brutality demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin that left two protesters dead and a third protester injured.

The defense has asked the judge to declare a mistrial after jurors were allowed to re-watch videos presented during trial. They claim the copies of the videos they received from the prosecution were inferior in quality. Prosecutors say they gave the defense the highest-quality video clips available and that the clips were played during the trial without objection.

The judge has not ruled on the mistrial request.

It marked the second time in as many weeks that Rittenhouse's lawyers had petitioned the court for a mistrial with prejudice. Last week, with Rittenhouse taking the stand in his own defense, lawyers took issue with a prosecutor's line of questioning and asked for a mistrial. Schroeder also did not issue a ruling in that instance.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he traveled from his home in nearby Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha as protests gripped the city following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse and others armed themselves to protect local businesses from looters and vandals.

Amid demonstrations on Aug. 25, Rittenhouse shot three protesters, killing two of them. Police allowed him to leave the scene, but he later turned himself in to authorities.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has tried to paint Rittenhouse as the aggressor in an attempt to nullify his claims of self-defense.

The defense argued the opposite, saying Rittenhouse felt his life was in jeopardy.

Rittenhouse faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and failure to comply with an emergency order. He faces life in prison if convicted of the intentional homicide count.

Deliberations in the Rittenhouse trial will resume Friday at 9 a.m. local time.