The judge presiding over the Kyle Rittenhouse trial has dismissed a juror who joked with a courtroom deputy about why Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shot Jacob Blake — the incident that prompted the protests that led to Rittenhouse shooting three people, killing two of them.
Prosecutors said the juror asked a courtroom deputy, "Why did the Kenosha police shoot Jacob Blake seven times? Because they ran out of bullets," saying the joke shows poor taste, and showed racial bias, CBS Chicago reports.
The judge questioned that juror, asking the juror to repeat the joke, but he wouldn't do so, and the judge removed him from the jury.
Judge Bruce Schroeder said it was important to maintain public confidence in the case, and removing the juror was necessary. That leaves a 19-person jury for the trial — 12 primary jurors and seven alternates.
Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three people, killing two, during protests in Kenosha. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
Mark Richards, Kyle Rittenhouse's lead attorney, takes a phone call before the start of the third day of the trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha on November 3 2021. SEAN KRAJACIC/AP
MJC511 on November 4th, 2021 at 18:46 UTC »
Noted for when I want to get out of jury duty
Sea-Mango on November 4th, 2021 at 18:08 UTC »
I was in grand jury selection and one of the people got asked if she could be impartial in child abuse cases and she was like, “OH HELL NO. MY COUSIN WAS MOLESTED AND THAT BASTARD GOT AWAY WITH IT”.
She was selected.
I was also selected, despite being asked fuckall but I blame that on a prosecutor holding eye contact with me for at least two minutes. Weirdest thing ever.
It was pretty fun all in all. We got to hear witness statements from a guy’s mom who was convinced he was a literal devil cuz of how many people he killed. Also got to indict a cop and piss off the entire PD, who showed up to glare at us as we left. That memory in particular will keep me warm.
SheriffComey on November 4th, 2021 at 15:37 UTC »
I'm sure this guy would've been a reasonable and impartial juror.