In the wake of the killing, widespread public animosity towards health insurers ― and UnitedHealthcare specifically ― may explain why the company quickly limited who could comment on their tribute to Thompson.
Still, people still found a way to express how they felt ― to the tune of more than 90,000 laughing reactions as of Friday.
Jury nullification isn’t some official* legal procedure or anything, it’s just the principle that a jury can choose to find someone not-guilty for reasons outside of the facts of the case at hand - they may think the law being broken is unjust, or they may think the punishment for the crime is too harsh, or they may just be protesting the legal system in general. It’s possible because generally two things are true about a trial ruled on by a jury of peers - a jury can’t be punished for an “incorrect” verdict, and a defendant can’t be tried for the same crime twice.
I agree with everything you said, but I just wanted to point out that a juror can’t legally be punished. I live in an area where both the city police and the county sheriffs are corrupt. They hold vendettas against anyone that pisses them off. One even stalked and assulted an ex using police lookup tools. Got caught, got slap on the wrist and he’s back at it, just more carefully now.
My point is that it’s supposed to be that jurors can’t be punished for their decisions, but in reality they might have to watch their back if the piss off the arresting officer (or anyone with power).
I hate living here. I wish I could afford to move.