Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23

Thread: Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Ammunition Ignorance

  1. #1

    Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Ammunition Ignorance

    First off, thanks to Dr. Roberts and everyone else who share their knowledge here. Someone should write a terminal ballistics primer for lawyers.

    I was just watching the prosecutor cross-examine Kyle Rittenhouse about the ammunition used in his AR-15 during the Kenosha riots. The level of ignorance was painful to watch. Rittenhouse had FMJ in the rifle.

    The prosecutor was trying to get Rittenhouse to admit he used FMJ because - unlike hollow points that hunters use - FMJ will go through someone and then injure someone behind them - like it's a feature. Poor Kyle didn't seem to understand anything about bullet construction or function which made it even more painful. The prosecutor was basically feeding Kyle his own ignorance saying hunters use hollow point rifle bullets because they always fragment and don't exit whereas those evil FMJs make it so that Kyle could kill 35 people with his 30 rounds. Then he had to bring in that some other guy had hollow points in his handgun because somehow they're safer than FMJs?

    I wonder if they will have some testify that actually knows something about terminal ballistics...

    Just painful to watch.

  2. #2
    banana republican blues's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Blue Ridge Mtns
    The topics and matters this prosecutor doesn't know jack about would fill volumes...ammunition being only one of them.
    There's nothing civil about this war.

    Read: Harrison Bergeron

  3. #3
    Site Supporter Coyotesfan97's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Phoenix Metro, AZ
    The ammunition issued to our patrol rifle operators went from Ballistic Tips to a BP round with a hollow point precisely because the BT rounds were breaking up in cover and not allowing us to hit suspects. We were given training and warnings those rounds would go through suspects and it was imperative we know what was behind someone.

    As far as the ammunition Rittenhouse had he should just have said that was the ammo in the magazines I was given and no I was interested in multiple injuries. <<shrugs>>
    Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.

  4. #4
    It doesn't matter if Kyle had FMJ, Hollow points, or paint balls. The prosecutor will try anything to either get Kyle to say something stupid or cause the jury to doubt him.

  5. #5
    Member TGS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Back in northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by Artemas2 View Post
    It doesn't matter if Kyle had FMJ, Hollow points, or paint balls. The prosecutor will try anything to either get Kyle to say something stupid or cause the jury to doubt him.
    Agreed, which is why I'm somewhat indifferent to the arguments about gun choices, ammo choices, accessory choices, etc being a bad idea (within reason). They're going to try and spin whatever you have in a bad light, no matter what it is.
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  6. #6
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Allen, TX
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this defense team rejected all kinds of offers from legit experts on defensive firearms use, firearms, ammo, etc. Hopefully, that won't be what snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.
    Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
    Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)

  7. #7
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Erie County, NY
    I wonder if the defense did any mock jury workups on these sort of issues. I don't know their funding to hire the firms that do such.

    Here's a bit about expert testimony - https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin...ed544be1438e55

    Did this guy testify or is scheduled to? Haven't followed every nuance.

    I don't know if calling an expert to discuss lethality is a particularly good idea. You don't know how that might be interpreted.

    The prosecutor is wandering around, IMHO , if he is trying to prove some kind of hostile intent to shoot folks or whatever. He's proving Kyle was scared and that's part of a reasonable analysis of danger.


    He is also wearing an ugly tie and matching handkerchief.
    Last edited by Glenn E. Meyer; 11-10-2021 at 03:31 PM.

  8. #8
    And if Kyle's gun had been loaded with softpoints or hollowpoints the prosecutor would've accused him of using ammunition banned by the Geneva Convention. Life mindsets At which point it would be easy to refute that soft pointed hollowpoint ammo is the most common ammo used by law enforcement agencies in the US.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    SE FL
    It helps if you understand that lawyers (and courts, for that matter) aren’t about truth or facts or justice or any of that stuff, but are about winning. And winning for the purpose of self-promotion, payment, advancement, recognition, ego, etc. regardless of that they may tell us (or themselves).

    We should all disabuse ourselves of the notion that it’s anything else.

    If one side lies, or says something non-factual, it’s up to the other side to refute it.

    Edit:
    After hitting “submit” it occurred to me that the same is true of the media.

    And clergy.
    Does the above offend? If you have paid to be here, you can click here to put it in context.

  10. #10
    This reminds me of the old argument of not using handloads because it will be brought up in court. Well apparently so will using cheap practice ammo. Either way you lose, it seems.

    The answer as to why FMJ was used is easy. It was what they had at the time.
    We could isolate Russia totally from the world and maybe they could apply for membership after 2000 years.

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •