Bill based off Kyle Rittenhouse Kenosha trial tweaked, moving forward

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A bill based off the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is moving forward in the Oklahoma State Senate, but it does not have all of the elements it had when it was originally filed.

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Senate Bill 1120, referred to by supporters at Kyle’s Law, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, but the bill’s senate sponsor and author State Senator Nathan Dahm (R- Broken Arrow) said the portion of the bill that would punish a district attorney for “malicious prosecution” has been cut from the bill.

“The part dealing with district attorneys has been removed,” Dahm said. “But I think we will have to deal with the issue of prosecutors in the future.”

Dahm said he was fine with the form of the bill known as the committee substitute because it not only made it more palatable for his colleagues to pass out of committee, but it gives the bill a better chance of making it through the legislative process.

The bill in its current form sitting on the floor of the State Senate waiting for approval will allow anyone charged with a crime in connection to a homicide to be reimbursed or awarded money for lost wages, court costs, and attorneys fees if the killing was deemed “justifiable homicide” or self-defense.

“Many states have a form of Kyle’s Law that has been proposed, Oklahoma is one if not the only state taking any kind of action to pass this,” Dahm said.

SB1120 is based off the murder trial that played out in Kenosha, Wisconsin last November. Rittenhouse was charged with multiple counts of homicide and attempted homicide after he opened fire on two men and wounded another during a protest that turned into a riot that sparked multiple cases of civil unrest over the non-fatal police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man shot by a white police officer.

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Rittenhouse’s attorneys argued successfully that their client was defending himself and a car dealership. A jury would acquit Rittenhouse of all charges.

Dahm and many other supporters of Rittenhouse’s actions across the country believe Rittenhouse’s prosecution was politically motivated and not in conjunction with what the actual law says about self-defense and justifiable homicide.

The new SB1120 passed 7-3 along party lines with all Republicans voting yes, and all Democrats voting no. The title of the bill has been stricken as Dahm and others work out some more wording, but Dahm told FOX23 he was confident everything would be taken care of in time for it to pass the State Senate and be ready for when the House and Senate trade bills in a few weeks.

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