EXPLAINER: Could jury weigh lesser charges for Rittenhouse?

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors in Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial could ask the jury to consider less serious charges in a trade-off that could help get a conviction but would ensure that he wouldn’t receive a life sentence. Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three people, two fatally, during an August 2020 protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He faces multiple charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, which is punishable by life in prison. Rittenhouse says he fired in self-defense and prosecutors have struggled as multiple witnesses painted the men who were shot as the aggressors. Daniel Adams, a former Milwaukee prosecutor who isn’t involved in the case, says the prosecutors trying it will likely ask jurors to consider second-degree intentional homicide charges.