Can the juries in the Rittenhouse and Arbery trials both be right?

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
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Good morning, readers:

The recent verdicts in the trials of Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin and the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia elicited all sorts of hot takes on whether jurors got it right in either case.

Rittenhouse, who was accused of murdering two men and injuring another, was acquitted on all counts.

Meanwhile, the assailants who chased, trapped and killed Arbery were found guilty of murder.

Could both verdicts be true? Cameron Smith, a former political attorney for conservative politicians and a columnist for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee, argues "yes" in his latest column.

And he calls out politicians, pundits and others who rushed to judgment.

"While the pundit and political classes effectively beclowned themselves, the juries applied the law to the facts and reached reasonable conclusions about the guilt of the respective defendants. That’s it," he wrote.

Scroll to read his essay. You will also find in the column a video podcast of our recent Tennessee Voices conversation where he explained the challenge for conservatives in today's polarized America.

Among the other opinion essays and offerings today:

  • Transparency in government: Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, warns about the government trying to over-regulate free speech

  • Climate change: We offer two different perspectives on the need to fight climate change. One is a conservative viewpoint by former Republican Sen. Bill Frist and Benji Backer, founder of the American Conservation Coalition. The other is a progressive view by Democratic state Sen. Brenda Gilmore, who is the Tennessee chairwoman of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.

  • Criminal justice: Our best-read commentary of the week is by former California prosecutor David Minier, now of Williamson County, who supports the Tennessee General Assembly's new law allowing the state attorney general to appoint a special counsel to prosecute state laws that a district attorney general chooses not to.

Finally, join us today for a live virtual conversation with a doctor, a scientist, parents and a school board member about the COVID-19 vaccine, masks and other school safety protocol at 6 p.m. CST/7 p.m. EST on Tennessean.com.

Please send me your feedback, questions and suggestions. Thank you so much.

David Plazas is the opinion and engagement director for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and host of the Tennessee Voices podcast. Feel free to reach out at dplazas@tennessean.com, call him at (615) 259-8063 or tweet to him at @davidplazas. You can also subscribe to Black Tennessee Voices, curated by LeBron Hill, and Latino Tennessee Voices, curated by Plazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Can juries in Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery trials both be right?