You will see all over Twitter that Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted because he is white, the judge is white, etc. etc. But is it a true representation that a black young man would have been treated differently?

Saw this excellent thread on Twitter, and wanted to share it with you. Fortunately Thread Reader packaged it up for us! I’m only including a small portion of the cases that she (Amy Swearer) lists:

This idea that only white people are allowed to avail themselves of the claim of self-defense, or that they can largely just do whatever and get away with it by claiming self-defense, is absurd: a thread.

Jaleel Stallings was acquitted of multiple attempted murder charges related to him shooting at several St. Paul police officers last summer. He [reasonably] claimed self-defense and that he had no idea these guys were cops.

St. Paul man who shot at MPD in self-defense acquitted of all charges by jury A St. Paul man has been acquitted on all charges stemming from an incident where he shot at Minneapolis police officers in self-defense last summer. https://kstp.com/news/saint-paul-man-who-shot-at-minneapolis-police-in-self-defense-acquitted-of-all-charges-by-jury/6224974/

It took the jury only four hours instead of four days to acquit Stephen Spencer of murder in a white man’s death during a race-related dispute. Spencer claimed self-defense.

Black man acquitted of killing white man after race dispute WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — A black man has been acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of a white man outside a bar in a case his attorney said stemmed from “ugly racism… https://apnews.com/article/north-america-shootings-pa-state-wire-us-news-race-and-ethnicity-3efa22e639a24bee9b06e7ee8830b0d9

Timothy Simpkins, an 18-year-old who shot three people with an illegally possessed gun at a Texas high school, is literally out on bond right now and claiming he shot in self-defense. Honestly, he has a viable claim wrt to the intended target.

Suspected Texas high school gunman released on bail — one day after teacher and students shot The Texas student who allegedly opened fire at his high school, injuring four people, including a teacher, was sprung from jail on Thursday afternoon. https://nypost.com/2021/10/07/suspected-texas-high-school-shooter-released-from-jail/

Dolores White stabbed her daughter’s boyfriend to death. Acquitted on the theory of self-defense.

Erie woman, 67, acquitted in fatal stabbing of daughter’s boyfriend; self-defense prevails Jury deliberated for about two hours before finding Delores White not guilty of all charges. DA wanted first-degree murder. https://www.goerie.com/story/news/crime/2021/03/18/delores-white-erie-county-woman-67-acquitted-fatal-stabbing/4745441001/

Trey Adams stabbed a high school classmate to death. Acquitted for? You guessed it – acting in self-defense.

Man acquitted in stabbing death of Enfield High School student A Hartford Superior Court jury on Friday acquitted Shyhiem “Trey” Adams of both charges he was facing — first-degree manslaughter and evidence tampering — in the 2018 stabbing death of https://www.journalinquirer.com/crime_and_courts/man-acquitted-in-stabbing-death-of-

There are dozens more.