EXPLAINER: Did Rittenhouse lawyers do enough to prevail?

By MICHAEL TARM
AP Legal Affairs Writer

KENOSHA, Wisconsin (AP) — When Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand to testify about his actions the night he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha — sobbing and seemingly unable to continue as he approached the critical moment where he shot the first man — it was one of the most compelling moments in his two-week murder trial. It might have been the most effective part of his three-day defense, too, potentially swaying any jurors inclined toward sympathy for the 18-year-old who has claimed self-defense in the shootings that left two of the men dead. Rittenhouse didn’t wilt in roughly six hours on the stand as prosecutors worked to portray him as at fault for the violence that night.