After almost three weeks of arguments, witness testimonials, and jury deliberation, the Ahmaud Arbery trial and Kyle Rittenhouse trial finally came to a close with the jury delivering their verdicts. What happened in these cases and what made them so controversial?
In the Ahmaud Arbery case, the defendants were found guilty of varying charges. Travis McMichael was found guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony. McMichael’s father Gregory McMichael was found not guilty of malice murder, but guilty on the rest of the charges. William “Roddie” Bryan Jr was found guilty of three counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony. The attorneys for the McMichael’s and Mr. Bryan have announced that they will file an appeal to an appellate court. This guilty verdict has many Black Lives Matter activist very pleased. Reverend Al Sharpton expressed pleasure in the verdict “a jury of eleven Whites and one Black in the Deep South stood up in the courtroom and said, ‘Black lives do matter.’” The question now is what will the appellate court do with the appeal?
The Kyle Rittenhouse case also wrapped up after almost three days of jury deliberation. Mr. Rittenhouse was accused of six separate charges including first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. These charges came after Mr. Rittenhouse fired at three separate people with an AR-15 killing two and injuring a third during a Black Lives Matter riot in Kenosha during a curfew order. He was originally charged with eight separate charges, however, the judge dismissed the violating a curfew order and illegal possetion of a gun charges. Many gun rights activists have triumphed the not guilty verdict as a sign that self defense with a gun is permitted in a court of law. However, others have argued that the not guilty verdict was a product of systemic racism in America; if this was a black person, he would have been shot by the police or found guilty of homicide. The presiding Judge Bruce Schroeder has also been questioned about his conduct during the trial. Most notably, Judge Schroeder shouted “Don’t get brazen with me” at the prosecutor for attempting to bring in evidence that was excluded in a pre-trial order, and for questioning the defendant’s post arrest silence as a way of proving guilt (under common law, remaining silent after an arrest does not prove guilt).
Now that these trials have concluded, both sides of the aisle have claimed some sort of victory and defeat. Questions about whether the jury system works have been brought up by many left-leaning politicians. Questions about gun laws have emerged; should it be legal for a seventeen year old to have an AR-15 on the streets? Both trials have paved a new road towards more change and where this change goes could shape the future of America.
Works Cited
EXPLAINER: What charges did Kyle Rittenhouse face? – AP
Jury Finds Kyle Rittenhouse Not Guilty On All Counts in Kenosha Shootings – NBC