#Rittenhouse Verdict

#Rittenhouse Should be Behind Bars

So the kid gets off on all charges. What a joke. However after the O.J. trial we knew the American court system is sometimes like the Jerry Springer show on which the Rittenhouse judge would have been an excellent guest. There should be another annual awards show for lawyers, judges, and prosecutors. Rittenhouse carrying his assault rifle should have made his guilt a slam dunk from the beginning. Thank you Judge - one who seemed to be incapable of completing an entire sentence on his own.

Look out America. Now any bullied kid in a schoolyard can just pull out a gun - however young he or she might be - and blow the bully away if they feel that their lives are "endangered." Rittenhouse deserved to be found guilty on at least one of the charges and should be serving some serious time.

This reminds me of the Trayvon Martin case in which George Zimmerman who also considered himself to be a neighbourhood watchman walked away a free man after shooting Martin, an unarmed black youth. As I write, the Ahmaud Arbery case is in progress in which once again some white men took it upon themselves to be vigilantes and proceeded to kill an innocent unarmed black man.

There is no question in the minds of most non-Americans that the American system is stacked against non-white minorities. Many Americans - white ones - claim that this is not true. Many others know that it is.

My point today was not to get dragged down the racial rabbit hole. It was to lambaste the American justice system. Here in Canada we do not allow cameras into the courtroom. How can you receive the best from court officials who are performing for an audience? When the entire world saw O.J. hold up that glove the prosecution's case was dead. It could have been managed much better off camera.

I have two suggestions from all of this. Firstly, go ahead and record proceedings visually but NOT live. Do not stream them in real time. The recordings should only be available for appeals so that the public can then form an opinion as to the merits of the appeal and the reasons for it.

These trials are not sporting events. Top athletes might do a victory dance or throw a temper tantrum for the viewing audience, but when they are actually competing their mind is on only one thing - winning by utilizing the best of their abilities. There is no time for drama. In a live courtroom lawyers, prosecutors, and even judges are also using their best skills but they do play to their world audience as part of their performance.

Remove the audience.

Secondly this jury should definitely have been sequestered. Do you really think none of them watched the news, social media, or discussed the case at home? Give your heads a shake.

#thebrewsterblock