EXPLAINER: Which side did better in Rittenhouse closings?

By MICHAEL TARM
AP Legal Affairs Writer

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A defense lawyer angrily accused the prosecution at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial of lying. The lead prosecutor struck a measured tone, even as he raised the accused’s rifle at one point and sighted at a courtroom wall. How the indignation and theatrics during Monday’s closing arguments played with jurors won’t be clear until 12 of them return with verdicts in a case that has underscored American divisions on issues of guns, protests and policing. Legal experts say both sides’ closings had strengths and weaknesses. And it’s not at all clear that closings will prove decisive during deliberations.