MILWAUKEE – Today a jury in Kenosha County found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on counts of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. 

 

Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson released the following statement on the verdict: 

 

“This case is just another example of the fact that we have two different justice systems in the United States. One justice system allows a white man to walk freely past police after crossing state lines with an unlawfully held semi-automatic rifle and killing two people with no consequences, while an unarmed Jacob Blake is shot 7 times and paralyzed by police with no semblance of justice.  

 

“We see one justice system allowing a clearly biased judge to coddle a white man on trial for murder. The other justice system locks up one in 36 Black adults in Wisconsin and allows Black men in Wisconsin to be 28 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison. 

 

“This case underscores the necessity of our work at Milwaukee County to achieve racial equity.”  

 

Nicholson was first elected in 2016. She represents several neighborhoods in Milwaukee, including the area around Washington Park, portions of the Marquette University campus, and the east side of Milwaukee. 

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