Acquittal stabs at the heart
Rittenhouse trial wasn’t about his self-defence justification. It was about a broken system that devalues Black lives
I think that this is what the system is designed for: To protect white people, young white people, and especially young white men.
TORONTO RAPTOR FRED VANVLEET ON THE ACQUITTAL OF KYLE RITTENHOUSE
Acquitted Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse was set free last week, prompting unrest and varying opinions all across North America. Most legal experts agreed early on that the uphill legal climb would be attributed to the prosecution and not the defence.
Perspectives started to fly immediately following the acquittal. In a conversation with journalists after the Raptors took on Sacramento last week, star player Fred VanVleet said “I think that this is what the system is designed for: To protect white people, young white people, and especially young white men.” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted that “Not guilty was the correct verdict. Anyone with a prefrontal cortex who had watched the trial for more than 30 seconds knew this.”
Like many high-interest court cases, the Rittenhouse trial has divided people politically. My position is clear: this has nothing to do with political stripe, and everything to do with a broken criminal justice system that doesn’t always treat defendants equally. Do I think Kyle Rittenhouse acted to some degree in self-defence? Yes. Do I think he should have been acquitted on all charges? No.
A complete acquittal sends the alarming message that an average citizen can head over to a rally with a loaded weapon, and fire off rounds because they feel threatened. That is a dangerous precedent to set. Then there is the issue of criminal justice overall. If a young Black boy strapped an assault-style rifle to his chest and shot two people dead while defending himself, would there be an acquittal? Black perpetrators of gun crime are statistically proven to serve prison sentences 20 per cent longer than that of their non-Black counterparts.
Believing Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defence while also acknowledging the fact that his identity played a role in his acquittal easily go hand in hand. For the Rittenhouse supporters saying things like “this was clearly self-defence, why are so many persons of colour mad about the verdict? It makes no sense,” let the above sink in. George Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 after initiating an encounter with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, whom he felt “looked suspicious.” Martin was actually a resident of the community, walking home with Skittles from a neighbourhood store, and Zimmerman killed him. We mourned.
In 2012, Adam Kind faced no charges when he shot Bo Morrison (a young Black man) dead on his property in Wisconsin. The 20year-old was hiding after police broke up a nearby party where the music was too loud. We mourned.
In the U.S., 8.2 million marijuana arrests took place between 20012010. Despite equal usage, Black people are nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested for having cannabis in their possession. As such, many BIPOC people can’t even fathom shooting someone, citing self-defence, and being acquitted — we are sent to jail for much less.
In Canada, our criminal justice system is no better off. A 2021 report prepared by the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers confirmed that racism and racial bias not only exist in the criminal justice system, but that little has been done to correct it.
In 2016, Dafonte Miller was assaulted by two white men in Whitby so badly that he lost an eye. The two men claimed they were protecting nearby property, due to seeing Miller and his friend breaking into a vehicle. One perpetrator (Michael Theriault) was given a light sentence of nine months. The other (Christian Theriault) was, you guessed it, acquitted.
For BIPOC people, the Rittenhouse trial wasn’t about whether or not self-defence was justified. Kyle Rittenhouse represents a broken system that devalues Black lives and gives them a different set of rules to live by. He is another white male with a get-out-of-jail-free card some of us will never get to have.