KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys have asked the judge to declare a mistrial before the jury reaches a decision, saying the defense received an inferior copy of a key video from prosecutors.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi told Judge Bruce Schroeder on Wednesday that the defense would have approached things differently if it had received the higher quality video earlier.
Chirafisi says the request would be made “without prejudice,” meaning prosecutors could try Rittenhouse again if the judge were to grant the request.
Prosecutors countered that the jury saw the highest-quality version of the video during the trial and it was played without objection.
Schroeder did not immediately rule on the mistrial request.
The jury is continuing to deliberate. They were handed the case Tuesday after two weeks of testimony in which they were given starkly different portrayals of Rittenhouse's actions the night he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha.
Rittenhouse, then 17, shot two men to death and wounded a third during a tumultuous night of protests against racial injustice in the summer of 2020.
Prosecutors say Rittenhouse was a “wannabe soldier” who provoked a confrontation, while the defense says he feared for his life and acted in self-defense after being ambushed by a “crazy person.”