Dershowitz on the Rittenhouse case

Those who watched the actual Rittenhouse trial on television should not have been surprised at the not guilty verdict. But those who got their information about the trial from biased commentators on CNN or CNBC may well have been shocked and surprised, because the facts they presented were radically different from the facts presented in court. Live coverage of criminal trials serves as an important check and balance against the deliberate distortions of biased media commentators. Based on the evidence presented in court, acquittal was the right verdict, but Rittenhouse should not be made a hero. He was morally wrong to arm himself and place himself in a position where he might have to defend his life by the use of deadly force. He may have had the right under the first and second amendments to arm himself and get in harm’s way, but he was morally wrong to do so. There is no place for vigilantism in our justice system, but that was not legally on trial in the Rittenhouse case.