Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Is long jury deliberation a good omen for the 18-year-old shooter?
The jury in the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who fatally shot two men last year during demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was not able to reach a verdict after a third full day of deliberations.
The panel of 12 jurors has deliberated for nearly 23 hours since Tuesday morning, November 16, in a bid to reach a consensus on the five counts Rittenhouse faces. Should he be convicted on the most serious charge, first-degree intentional homicide, the teenager could be sentenced to life in prison. Jurors are now tasked with evaluating whether Rittenhouse had a legitimate and reasonable fear for his life and his use of deadly force was reasonable, or whether he recklessly shot his AR-15-style rifle that night, claiming the lives of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, then 26, NPR reported.
RELATED ARTICLES
Kyle Rittenhouse: Nancy Grace asked to apologize for defending 'vigilante' label
Who is Dominick Black? Kyle Rittenhouse's pal bought gun used in Kenosha shootings
Jury deliberations can last anywhere between a couple of minutes and a few weeks, depending on the case. In most states and federal courts, the jury is required to come to a unanimous decision before they can make any announcements. Considering there's no set time limit on deliberations — the decision is left entirely up to the jury once they receive the charges or the judge's written instructions on the law. The panel then secretly deliberates in private quarters behind closed doors until they reach a unanimous decision.
There is no sure-fire way of knowing what conclusion the jury may arrive at, but some predictions are made based on how long they are deliberating. Some believe that when a jury makes a decision rather quickly, the defendant is often guilty. Meanwhile, others may see an extended deliberation to mean the opposite.
Nonetheless, the long deliberation time is not necessarily a surprise in Rittenhouse's case, experts believe. The Antioch, Illinois resident is facing five felony counts, four of which are different charges. On the counts related to the shootings of Huber and Grosskreutz, jurors may consider lesser versions of the original charges.
"There are so many layers involved here. I'm not surprised it's taking so long," Angela Jones, an assistant professor of criminology at Texas State University, told NPR. She said complex jury instructions can contribute to prolonging the deliberation time.
Kenosha circuit court Judge Bruce Schroeder read aloud 36 pages of jury instructions over the course of an hour before the panel started deliberations. The instructions are full of legal terms like "reasonable belief" and "utter disregard for human life" that are crucial to the evaluation of the case. A juror asked the judge on Thursday if she could take the instructions home. "Even if you have a college degree, if you're not a lawyer, you just don't understand the legal jargon that's being used," said Jones. "If jurors have different views on what is 'reasonable,' ... that is where they can get hung up on coming to a unanimous decision."
Jones said conventional wisdom is that longer deliberation times usually tend to favor the defense.