The mother of Tamir Rice recently spoke about the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, calling for the U.S. to be “overthrown” following the shocking verdict.
“I’m very annoyed about how minor, a white little boy, is not in jail for the murder of other people,” said Samaria Rice to TMZ. “That’s just not right. His mother should go to jail too because why would you give him a gun and he’s a minor? That’s not how you’re supposed to raise your children… You knew he was going to a protest, what did you think he was going to do? He wasn’t helping out the police he killed innocent police and for that right there, he should be in jail.”
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges Friday after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings last year, theGrio previously reported.
He was charged with homicide, attempted homicide, and reckless endangering after killing two men and wounding a third with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle during a tumultuous night of protests over police violence against Black people in the summer of 2020. The former police youth cadet is white, as were those he shot.
The jury, which appeared to be overwhelmingly white, deliberated for close to four days. Rittenhouse could have gotten life in prison if found guilty on the most serious charge, first-degree intentional homicide, or what some other states call first-degree murder.
The not guilty verdict comes as Nov. 22 is the 7th anniversary of Tamir Rice’s death. The boy was 12-years-old when he was fatally shot in November 2014 by a white officer in Cleveland, Ohio. Tamir was gunned down after someone reported seeing him with a firearm. It was later revealed that Tamir was playing with a toy gun.
Earlier this year, the family of Tamir Rice and their legal team issued a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration and the Department of Justice to reopen their investigation into the boy’s death, theGrio reported.
According to The Hill, attorneys representing Rice’s family penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland back in April requesting he reopen the case. They hope the DOJ can complete a thorough investigation of the fatal shooting and bring charges against the officer involved in Tamir’s death.
“The election of President Biden, your appointment and your commitment to the rule of law, racial justice, and police reform give Tamir’s family hope that the chance for accountability is not lost forever,” the letter stated. “We write on their behalf to request that you re-open this investigation and convene a grand jury to consider charges against the police officers who killed Tamir.”
Speaking to The Hill, attorney Zoe Salzman noted the impact his death has had on the Rice’s. She said for them to “be fighting, day after day, year after year, for justice, and the case or some government system some system of justice, to take the case seriously to give it a fair chance to just apply the rule of law, and that has been denied again and again to the Rice family.”
Meanwhile, under the same justice system, Rittenhouse was allowed to kill two people with a semi-automatic weapon and avoid all consequences.
“At the end of the day, this country needs to be overthrown. This is pitiful,” said Samaria Rice during her recent TMZ interview. “Where in this country have we seen somebody pick their own jurors? When I saw that I was like are we still on planet earth? We’re praying for them right now because this is pitiful!”
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