Accommodation New Zealand introduces
Defense attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse asked the judge on Wednesday to declare a mistrial, arguing that they did not receive the same quality of a key drone video as the prosecution.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said they initially received a compressed version of a video taken by a drone that the state prosecutors played for jurors during closing arguments.
Prosecutors say it showed Rittenhouse pointing his gun at anti-racism protesters before being chased by Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man he shot and killed during a night of racial injustice unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August, in which Rittenhouse eventually shot three people, killing two and injuring one.
Rittenhouse, 18, faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges he faces. The trial has divided both Kenosha and the US as Rittenhouse has embraced as a heroic vigilante by conservatives while others point out the wildly differing experience the armed, white militia supporter received from law enforcement compared to anti-racism protesters.
Rittenhouse testified that he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors argued that he provoked the violence.
Jurors were weighing charges against Rittenhouse for a second day on Wednesday after failing to reach a swift verdict Tuesday on whether he was the instigator of the bloodshed or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.
The mistrial without prejudice is the second mistrial request in the highly contentious case in which Rittenhouse is accused of reckless homicide and intentional homicide after he fatally shot two men and injured another in Kenosha. Last week, the defense asked for a mistrial with prejudice over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the prosecution.
Unlike a mistrial without prejudice, a mistrial with prejudice means that if granted, Rittenhouse cannot be retried in the shootings.
He went on to add that the video is key because the prosecution argues it proves that Rittenhouse lied on the stand when he said he did not point his rifle at protesters.
Jury deliberation continues.
Associated Press contributed to this report
