Kai Ryssdal, K&E News’ editor in chief, and Mark Rozell, a professor at George Mason University, talk about the five men found guilty in the murder of Renisha McBride. And the racist messages posted to Jussie Smollett’s Facebook page about the race of a woman who was not a victim of a crime.
Renisha McBride had driven to Detroit in the early morning hours of November 2, 2015. Investigators say she drank five or six mixed drinks in Detroit and passed out in her car.
Over the next 12 hours, she was burglarized and shot dead in a vacant field. She was shot four times. The suspects, Joseph Patterson, who claimed self-defense; Robert Sauk, who claimed he was hit in the head and held down by the victim; Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., who also claimed self-defense; and Gary Silcott, who claimed he was cleaning his gun when it accidentally fired.
In a case that put a spotlight on race in America, the jury found them guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter. But the boys could face up to life in prison.
The jury deliberated for five days before delivering the verdict to the judge. Read the verdict here.
