Kim Shumway: When you see the everyday decency of regular people, it puts the behavior of our "elites" into rather stark relief. (tl;dr 23-year-old juror impaneled on a pandemic nonprofit fraud case is offered $120K in cash and *immediately* turns it in. Wild story, a credit to local reporting. Gift link.)

When you see the everyday decency of regular people, it puts the behavior of our "elites" into rather stark relief. (tl;dr 23-year-old juror impaneled on a pandemic nonprofit fraud case is offered $120K in cash and *immediately* turns it in. Wild story, a credit to local reporting. Gift link.)

Juror in fraud case given bag with $120K, promise for more ‘if she votes to acquit,’ FBI sayswww.washingtonpost.com The alleged bribe came as a bombshell revelation in an ongoing trial over a massive pandemic fraud case tied to Minnesota-based nonprofits.

The honest juror ought to be allowed to keep the $120k (and pay a gift tax, of course). It would set a good example.

Totally agree. There should be a movement where people take bribe money, and then just not follow through with it. What are they going to do, take you to court for taking their bribe and not doing what they said?

))))))

Except that money most likely came at least in part from the Covid-19 funds that the defendants defrauded.

If it were Clarence Thomas instead of a juror, you’d have 5 hosts on Fox talking over each other about how it’s his right as an American to take gifts like this. Jk Fox would bury this story

That "everyday decency" is why prosecutors avoid jury trials.

100%

Nah. Jurors vote to convict most of the time. Prosecutors try to avoid jury trials because they’re overworked and/or lazy

Plea deals convict 100% of the time.

Plea deals often involve dismissing some of the charges in exchange for a guilty plea on others, so no. A huge percentage — don’t know if it’s tracked but I listen to dozens of trials a year — of trial convictions result in WAY more time than the defendant was offered in plea deals.

I’m massively pro-defendant, being an ex-con myself. However, I recognize that prosecutors are overburdened by this broken system and plea deals are their attempt to conserve their own resources.

Jury pools are overwhelmingly composed of people with a pro-prosecution bias, in most of the country. Even fairly progressive people tend to show a pro-prosecution bias upon voir dire, even if they’re less apt to give law enforcement complete credulity.

Here is the aforementioned local reporting minnesotareformer.com/2024/06/03/j...

Juror in Feeding Our Future case excused after being offered bags of cash to acquit • Minnesota Reformerminnesotareformer.com A juror in the Feeding Our Future case was excused Monday morning after prosecutors said an unidentified individual went to the juror’s house on Sunday night and offered a bag containing $120,000 in c...

i'm glad they turned it in, but it would be absolutely hilarious if defendants are over there seething that they actually offered the juror $150k in cash.

This was the exact thought that first popped into my head.

She does deserve a lot of credit, especially since the other side of not accepting a bribe is harm coming to you if you “squeal”. We heard she is terrified.

But she still did the right thing.

Yes, someone showing up to a juror's family home with a bribe is deeply concerning. Her actions are a credit to her.

Who gets the money now? They should 100% give it back to the juror Somebody is gonna get that money and it should be this absolute being of light who did the right thing here

This would also be the best guard against this kind of interference. Oh, if you bribe me and I report, I can keep the money and not do anything wrong.

This seems like intelligent self-preservation Nothing good could possibly come from accepting this bribe

Giving someone a $120,000 bribe in cash is like making them responsible for a half-dozen kilos of cocaine

Yes, doing the moral thing is also the smart thing here, but if you could see my QTs a surprising number of people don't seem to grasp that taking any of this money has dire consequences, in myriad ways. But then, greed is why bribes exist.

Some people have never watched SCARFACE and it shows

Scarface Jerry The Banker Scenem.youtube.com The World Is Yours

Which is why im like nah if you are gonna try me with that it better be fuck you I quit money. It better be I get to start a foundation to indefinitely take care of homeless youth money. It better be I can fund a year long general strike money

It better be secure offshore numbered bank account money

The food thieves can rot in hell, I am just speaking about best practices for large amounts of legally radioactive dosh

Oh i know i was just piling on because they never make the risks worth the reward with that shit

The only place that kinda money goes, in panama paper shell corporations like the lord intended

I would have such fun being a vigilante samaritan billionaire Like, that occasionally used aspect of Bruce Wayne but it's my entire deal "...reporting tonight that all medical debt in all 52 states has been paid in full by an anonymous benefactor" could be an opening salvo

Oh no that's still 52 *weeks*, we haven't done P.R. and D.C. statehood yet Time-travel hangover, sorry

Seats of power are inhumane spreading ambition like wildfire

Thomas would've demanded that the bribe be tripled or else he'd vote to convict.

Not gonna lie I'd be like, "Hello FBI, someone gave me a bag of $60k in cash to throw the trial."

Yeaaaah but then the FBI investigates and finds out you only gave them half the bribe

This was great to read. Thank you for sharing it!

And was kicked off the jury as a result.

Oh you could not get me off the jury fast enough if the defendants were into this Mob shit. What next?

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