Quote:
Originally Posted by BoLevi
There never was a murder.
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There actually was. There was two murders and one attempted murder. All three were called justifiable because of a self-defense claim. This is actually where the miscarriage of justice is. The three were essentially rolled up into one charge instead of the charges being broken out independently. Because one was determined to be self defense the jury acquitted on all three, instead of weighing each charge individually.
I actually have no complaint with the acquittal on the third charge. Grosskreutz had a gun, and even though he approached in a non-threatening posture, I can see the concern and going defensive. This was justifiable to some extent, so I have no concern with the jury letting him off here.
The guy with the skateboard, I have major issues with that defense. Even though Calgarypuck's Tony Hawk will tell you he's confident he could kill with his skateboard, I am very confident in saying that the skateboard is not a lethal weapon any more than a hockey stick or a baseball bat. Brandishing any of these towards me would not give me the incentive to draw my weapon and face the potential outcomes. As a CCW holder I know just how much responsibility comes with carrying a gun and the only time you unholster it, except to secure it, is with intent to kill. That is how you are trained and how the NRA trainers are told to explain the choice being made. You pull that gun only with intent to kill. Period. Depending on the state, drawing your weapon can be considered aggravated assault or even assault with a deadly weapon. If you pull it, you do so to kill. This isn't the movies where you get to pull your gun, waive it around, and think there are no consequences (except in this trial).
The other victim, and this guy is a victim, uttered verbal threats. That's it. He chased Rittenhouse and used verbal threats, and for that he lost his life. That is the one that urks me. This never should have resulted in a gun being drawn or a round put down range. Rittenhouse should have roasted for this, but the judge framed things in such away that there was a single glove to fit all three charges, and he made damn sure the glove was not going to fit. This is the one that should have hung the kid.