Kyle Rittenhouse deliberations: Jury asks for copies of self-defense instructions

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- After about eight hours of deliberations, there is still no verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.

The jury began deliberating at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, and so far they have asked the judge two questions, both related to photo copies of jury instructions.

Almost immediately after convening in the jury room, they asked specifically for 11 copies of pages 1-6, which focus on self-defense laws.

Self-defense is at the very heart of the Kyle Rittenhouse case, so it's no surprise jurors are reading the laws carefully.

Judge Bruce Schroeder read all 36 pages of instructions aloud to the jury on Monday, including the section on self-defense.

"The law of self-defense allows the defendant to threaten or intentionally use force against another only if he believed there was an imminent, unlawful interference with his own person," Judge Schroeder said.

Included in the six pages the jury asked for is the provocation instruction.

"The person who engages in unlawful conduct of a type likely to attack and who does provoke an attack, is not allowed to use or threaten force in self-defense against that attack," Judge Schroeder said in court.

Provocation is a crucial part of the state's argument. Prosecutors say video shows Rittenhouse pointing his gun.

"We have presented evidence of this provocation, that the unlawful conduct provoked Mr. Rosenbaum to attack him," prosecutor Thomas Binger argued in court last week.

The defense disagrees and questions the methods used to enhance that video.

"Examiner Armstrong took 20 hours to manipulate that photograph to get that blurry mess up there on the screen," defense attorney Mark Richards fired back at Binger.

After a battle, the judge decided to give jurors the instruction and let them decide.

The jury is made up of seven white women, four white men and one Hispanic man.

Jurors ended deliberations around 5:30 and will reconvene Wednesday at 9 a.m.