Witness for the Prosecution - life imitates art --- Speaking to Chris's point: "What one sees as manipulation may be seen as persuasion by another".

A current example of the use and misuse of language is the Kyle Rittenhouse murder being broadcast live throughout the US. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17 at the time, stands accused of the murder of 2 people and wounding a third.

Kyle’s defense is “self-defense: There is no doubt that he is innocent of the charges. I won’t recount the facts unless there is interest. The entire incident is captured on video and includes drone-footage of the shooting.

The preparation for a trial of this complexity can require up to a year of before formal charges are laid; in this case it was 48 hours from incident to incitement. Remarkably efficient for a government worker.

Reaching into his spin toolkit the state prosecutor described the people who were shot and the state witness for the prosecution as “victims”; while Kyle’s defense attorney refers to them as “looters” and “rioters.”

The wounded man (‘victim’ or ‘looter’) testified as the star witness for the prosecution. Two days ago, the case took a dramatic turnaround that bears many similarities to the 1957 film ‘Witness for the Prosecution” staring starring Tyrone Power (accused) , Marlene Dietrich (witness for the prosecution), and Charles Laughton (barrister defending the accused.)

In a life imitates art event the star-prosecution witness this week admitted he was pointing his gun at the accused Karl Rittenhouse when Karl, fearing for his life, shot and wounded the prosecution witness. All the elements of self-defense are present.

This ongoing Rittenhouse case, and the referenced film, illustrate the rhetorical use and misuse of language by the law.

Source author: John D. Hipsley jhipsley@igc.org