In a two-week trial that reignited debate over self-defense laws across the nation, a Wisconsin jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting three people, two fatally, during a racial justice protest in Kenosha. The Wisconsin jury believed Rittenhouse’s claims that he feared for his life and acted in self-defense after he […]
SelfDefense
From Rittenhouse to Arbery, self-defense rules are on trial in America
The killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Satilla Shores, Ga., shocked the nation, with images of a black man pursued by three white men in trucks. The obvious racial elements quickly defined the trial. However, the three defendants were claiming a right that is hundreds of years old, allowing citizens to […]
Self-Defense Claims in Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery Cases Are Interrogated
As two closely watched murder trials played out in two different states this past week, juries heard strikingly similar stories: men took up guns in the name of protecting the public, and when they wound up killing unarmed people, they claimed self-defense. In one case, Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two […]