(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The special prosecutor who won a murder conviction against former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke sees several mistakes in the case against Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin.
Joe McMahon said he would have added every possible charge against the Antioch teen for the deaths of two people and the wounding of another during Kenosha unrest last year. The jury acquitted Rittenhouse of the five charges he faced.
“I think most human beings want to hold somebody accountable for that conduct, for that misconduct — whether it’s a crime or not, ultimately that’s their decision,” McMahon, a former Kane County state’s attorney, said Friday. “But if you don’t give the jury the ability to compromise, then it’s really a high-risk proposition.”
Another misstep McMahon sees is the prosecution’s questioning of Rittenhouse about his silence after his arrest. He said challenging the bedrock legal principle likely cost them with the judge and jury.
McMahon was the special prosecutor in the criminal case against Van Dyke, the white police officer who fatally shot a Black teen in 2014. Van Dyke in 2018 was convicted of second-degree murder and multiple counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. He is currently serving out an 81-month sentence.
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