The reason people are so adamant about Kizer finding justice is that in self-defense cases, Black people are not often acquitted compared to White people. But in this case, Rittenhouse and Kizer have many similar circumstances and if she is found guilty of murder, people will have good reason to question that result.

Advertisement

Marc Wilson is going through a similar situation in Statesboro, Georgia for killing a white teenager in self-defense. It’s still unclear what his future will hold.

From NBC News:

Kizer was 17 when she shot Volar in the head and set his home on fire before stealing his car in June 2018. Kizer said she met Volar, then 34, through Backpage — a now-shuttered sex ads website — and he sold her to men for sex. Kizer said Volar had been filming his abuse of her since she was 16 and she acted in self-defense after he pinned her to the floor when she refused to have sex with him. Prosecutors have argued that Kizer simply wanted to steal Volar’s car. But in a 2019 Washington Post interview from jail, Kizer said that she shot Volar in self-defense.

It was later revealed by The Washington Post that both prosecutors and Kenosha police had evidence that Volar, who is white, had abused Kizer and other underage Black girls. Just months before his death, a 15-year-old girl accused him of drugging and threatening to kill her, according to the Post. And police found exploitative videos of Volar abusing girls who appeared as young as 12, the Post reported.

Advertisement

Unfortunately, Kizer has to go through something like this. She was fighting for her life against a man that planned on sexually abusing and trafficking her. People should rightfully so be supporting her to be found not guilty of protecting herself from someone who was planning to sell her for sex.

But the circumstances that benefitted Rittenhouse may not benefit Kizer. Rittenhouse was a white man with an all-white jury and a judge that favored his defense. The judge didn’t allow for the people Rittenhosue killed to be called victims.

Advertisement

Will Kizer receive similar treatment? We’ll have to wait and see.