Validating the claims of Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense team, the prosecution admitted in court today that the video provided to the defense was shorter and of lower quality than the video the prosecution has in its possession.
Assistant District Attorney James Kraus made the admission but claimed the error was unintentional.
The Daily Wire reports that Kraus told the court that Kenosha Detective Martin Howard must have compressed and inadvertently compromised the video footage before forwarding it to Natalie Wisco, an attorney for Rittenhouse.
The discrepancies between the quality and length of the key video footage came to light last Friday during court proceedings.
Today, Defense Attorney Wisco disputed Kraus’ account and said to the court, “There’s no way what ADA Kraus is saying is true.”
Wisco told the court that the file the defense team received was only about one-third the size of the file the prosecution had, and interestingly, the prosecution’s video was created some 21 minutes before the file that she received was created.
Watch:
Judge Bruce Schroeder expressed skepticism at Kraus’ statement and indicated the matter would require further investigation. Though Schroeder withheld judgment on the matter for the moment, he did not hesitate to note his disapproval with the prosecution, saying the matter made him feel “very queazy.”
After Friday’s revelation that a better video capturing the details of the incident was available, Wisco investigated the matter and found that the 4-megabyte file she was given was of much lower quality and shorter in length than the 11-megabyte file the State had in their possession for months.
As previously reported, the defense team filed a motion to dismiss charges based on the prosecution’s wrongful handling of key evidence.
“The video footage has been at the center of this case,” reads the motion from the defense. “The failure to provide the same quality footage in this particular case is intentional and clearly prejudices the defendant.”
The jury has been deliberating for three days while the judge is preparing to decide on the defense team’s request for a mistrial.
USA Today reports that Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with “first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide stemming from shootings that occurred during a violent night of protest over police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin” on August 20, 2020.
The USA Today report notes that Rittenhouse could receive a life sentence if convicted.
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