The video I saw he points it off camera more towards the gallery, the jury is not in frame (which I think is deliberate as they don’t like to show juries on camera), and it was checked by the police who are responsible for maintaining the chain of custody, not the bailiff (who primarily is responsible for court security.)
Although the firearms was supposedly checked by deputies, there are still multiple violations of firearms safety. A cautionary check may still be sloppy. The bolt is closed, and the man’s finger is on the trigger. I can’t tell if the safety is on from pictures, but you never ever rely on the safety.
I will acknowledge that the jury was probably to the side, but even if there was nobody in the courtroom directly in the path, (A) people are fallible and the prosecutor could have twisted or dropped the firearm and (B) walls don’t always stop bullets, and there’s definitely going to be a hallway past the back wall. Also, it seems that he actually did depress the trigger. (!)
I intend no disrespect or sarcasm towards you, however. Unfortunately it does seem to be that much of the commentary is from the somewhat… mentally unhealthy. But that does not mean they are wrong in this situation.
Edit: Qualify previous statement Some People reported that Binger depressed the trigger but it’s not clear from the video or pictures.
All I know is everyone was acting idiotic in the video clips. “Let’s all go to a protest with firearms!” Bunch of morons all around. You can find all involved in this guilty of stupidity. Hope they have a verdict by tomorrow.
Is there a reason why the gun isn’t locked? A cable lock would still allow them to handle the gun without detracting from their presentation while also making sure it can’t be fired.
It doesn’t even have to be overly secure. It’s not so much about making sure someone can’t steal it or purposely fire it but rather just making sure that everyone can visually see that it’s safe and can’t be fired, even by accident.
Granted, it should still be treated as a loaded gun, this just helps to make sure it isn’t a loaded gun (or at least can’t be fired if it’s loaded).
So at this point what are the predictions? I know nobody here took an oath to be impartial but try to put yourself in the jury box using what they heard and the law to make your prediction.
Before the trial I thought there was no way he would be found not guilty. More than halfway through I thought he would be found not guilty. Now I’m not sure.
I’m going to say he will not be convicted of the 1st degree homicide and attempted homicide charges. I predict he will be convicted of the 2nd degree charges they are allowed to consider. I’m not very confident of my prediction.
I will make the caveat that I did not see every minute of testimony like the jury did. I watched the highlights and read the coverage. I would rather stick needles in my eyes than watch an entire trial without being paid for it.
Yeah that’s not going to happen. There would have to be extraordinary circumstances for a judge to throw out a verdict. It’s extremely rare and nothing has happened in this trial to warrant it. The law gives jurors a lot of power for a reason.
I agree that he’ll be convicted on the lesser charges. Whether he gets convicted of first degree may depend on if the jury considers the fact that he was armed a provocation in and of itself. I’m not sure if the prosecution presented this however.
I get where you’re coming from. By all accounts, the judge has been very sympathetic to the defense.
That’s my guess as well. I think it’s also the Kenosha’s and Wisconsin’s guess as the police and sheriffs are getting prepared and roughly 500 members of the National Guard are ‘on standby’.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there are protests and/or riots regardless of the verdict. Between the two options, I think I’d rather see him walk and have the left protest/riot rather than have him locked up and the right do the same. As bad as the riots that set this off were I feel like the right would show up with a whole lot more firepower.
Point taken. That said, Antioch Illinois to Kenosha Wisconsin is 20ish miles and is a 30 minte drive. So, KR made something of an effort to get there. It wasn’t like he walked 15 minutes down the street and got caught up in a riot.
The State lines is relevant only because of state laws. Wisconsin’s laws about the misdemeanor weapons charge was dismissed. But it sure seemed f*cked up to me. That a plain reading of Wisconsin’s fireare law seems to allow for minors to have firearms for hunting, but not a sawed off shotgun. In this case, it wasn’t a case of KR going hunting.