The Rittenhouse verdict should not have been a surprise

[FaC]

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216067887

Sympthsical (2,604 posts)


The Rittenhouse verdict should not have been a surprise
The evidence was plain and present.

- Rosenbaum was an aggressive, unstable man all night, making threats and trying to start fights with people and starting fires. This is on video. He chased Rittenhouse. This is on video. Rittenhouse retreated. This is on video.

- After shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse again retreated. He told people, including the third person shot, he was running to the police who were fully visible and not far away. This is on video. He continued to retreat until he was chased down and attacked. First by an object to the back of the head, then by a man kicking him in the face, then by Huber with the skateboard.

This is on video.

- The third victim pulled back, raised his hands, then pulled his gun forward towards Rittenhouse after Rittenhouse pointed his rifle away.

This is on video. The victim testified to this under oath.

If people are angry, blame the media. They misled us on all of this from day one. What we were told was not true. That Rittenhouse was the one chasing Rosenbaum. That Rittenhouse was randomly shooting people. That he crossed state lines with a gun and driven by his mother. Again and again - for over a year, and with the video evidence available for all to see - we were told lie after lie, mischaracterization after mischaracterization by the media.

Why? Ratings. Partisanship. Polarization. Right now, they're salivating at the prospect of riots. "Oh no, wouldn't that just be the worst for us?!" And we let them do this, because we get lazy and readily believe what fits with our politics, beliefs, and narratives without questioning as vigorously as we should. And I include myself in this. I do it sometimes, too.

When I first started watching this trial, I had assumed Rittenhouse was guilty. I knew little. Only stories here and there. What got repeated on social media. Look at DU. Even during the trial, all kinds of false information was posted again and again, despite efforts to correct it. People thought the victims were black. A year after this all happened, still it persisted.

Justice cannot be about partisan teams. It can't be "We lost this one. Maybe we'll win the next one." People cannot be guilty just because we dislike them and they're on the "other team." They have to be guilty because of what the law and facts say. That's it.

The law and the facts prevailed here. There was no way reasonable jurors - unanimously - looked at all the available evidence and didn't have at least reasonable doubt in their minds. They had little choice but to acquit based on what was presented in this trial.

The judge had nothing to do with it. All this, "He's biased, a right-winger, a white supremacist, etc." came from the times he ruled for the defense. But he ruled for the prosecution plenty of times. He gave the prosecution plenty of leeway. The biggest point of contention - the video the defense wanted scrubbed from the trial - went the prosecution's way. He could've dismissed the trial at multiple points because of the prosecution's bad behavior. He didn't.

I'm sorry people are upset and surprised. I'm not happy, even if I agree with the legal outcome. People are still dead. People will still fight about this. Some will feel emboldened to worse behavior. Some will feel an injustice was done that will justify future violence.

No part of any of this is good.

But it shouldn't have been a surprise.

I see pizzas in Sympthsical's near future - the DUmmies are NOT going to like getting slapped in the face with the truth...

[DUmpDiver]

I'm surprised that post hasn't been MIRT'd and pizza'd yet.

[GOP Congress]

There are a lot of redpill comments in that thread. Haven't looked up posting histories, but I DO sense a lot of shock at how the videos and jury decisions were completely opposite prosecutor and media narratives.

[67 Rover]

OK fess up whose mole is that? 

[Karin]

Silverbacker (1 post)

56. The prosecution never should have been brought.

The jury had no choice but to acquit under the statutes they charged him with.

What they tried to do is muddy everyone's understanding of provocation and self defense enough to convince the jury.

Provocation requires an unlawful act that reasonably results in an immediate violent reaction, it's a statute for bank robbers and such, and moot as soon as the defendant retreats. Prosecution tried to hang that on the possession charge, which wasn't applicable as it only applies to kids under 16 that aren't lawfully hunting (or a handgun or short barreled rifle). They knew this, it's right there in the plain language of the charge, and very typical to have a "farm boy" rule for long guns. It was never going to stand.

It didn't really matter anyway because despite all the muddying of the water you're never free to attack somebody who's retreating, even under castle doctrine.

Almost everything the prosecution said in their close was a flat out lie about the law itself. If you assault somebody who's armed and reach for the gun you've presented an imminent threat to life.

They also violated the defendant's 5th and 6th amendment rights, along with numerous brady violations. They're very likely to face sanctions.

The assailants weren't BLM either, they were just there because some men like to watch the world burn.

I agree the media bears a lot of blame for people being surprised by the verdict, I'd also point out that many people were banned here for just correcting the BS narrative when it happened.

One post.  Still up. 

[enslaved1]

OK fess up whose mole is that? 

Mods must be playing whack a mole right now 

[ADsOutburst]

Acquittal is what's supposed to happen when the prosecution's case is liquid shit.

Bogus weapons charge that the prosecutor pretty much acknowledged was bogus.

No substantive evidence of provocation.

No case.

[landofconfusion80]

Mods must be playing whack a mole right now 

Theyre doing a really bad job of it. No bonus chuck-e-cheese tickets for them!

[SVPete]

Silverbacker (1 post)

56. The prosecution never should have been brought.

The jury had no choice but to acquit under the statutes they charged him with. ...........

One post.  Still up.

Now:

Name removed Message auto-removed

Dude(tte) been MIRTed. Glancing through that post, there was nothing outrageous or even inaccurate about it. Unless Das MIRT traced his/her IP to a known conservative mole or (s)he posted something outrageous in a different post, Silverbacker got MIRTed for not agreeing that R was guilty.

[ADsOutburst]

I can't fathom how people believe the mainstream media reporting on this. They weren't the ones there to document the whole thing in real time.