Kyle Rittenhouse jury ends second day of deliberations without reaching verdict
Jurors in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial finished a second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict on Wednesday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse faces five felony charges in the August 2020 shootings that killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, during a chaotic night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, claims he acted in self-defense. He testified that he went to Kenosha, armed with an AR-15 style rifle, to help protect local businesses and provide first aid. He took the stand last week in his own defense, and at one point broke into tears when his attorneys questioned him about why he fatally shot Rosenbaum.
"I didn't do anything wrong, I was defending myself," Rittenhouse told the court.
But the prosecution has painted Rittenhouse as the aggressor and showed video from the scene in an effort to show that he provoked the violence. In this case, the burden of proof is on prosecutors to prove the shooting was not justified.
The jury heard from more than 30 witnesses during two weeks of testimony.
Deliberations began Tuesday morning after the field of 18 jurors was narrowed down to 12. Rittenhouse himself picked six pieces of paper from a lottery tumbler that were used to identify the alternate jurors. A courtroom clerk is usually responsible for that task, not the defendant. Judge Bruce Schroeder said he has been having defendants do it for "I'm going to say 20 years, at least."
Seven women and five men were selected to be jurors, and they appeared to be mostly white.
Outside the Kenosha County courthouse, opposing groups of protesters for and against a guilty verdict have gathered, and 500 National Guard troops are standing by in case of possible unrest once a verdict is reached.
What are the charges?
Count 1: First-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, for the death of Joseph Rosenbaum.
Count 2: First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon.
Count 3: First-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, for the death of Anthony Huber.
Count 4: Attempted first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, for the shooting of Gaige Grosskreutz.
Count 5: First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon.
A sixth count, possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, was dropped by the judge before both sides began their closing arguments.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.