Luigi Mangione’s radical supporters are leading the charge pushing for a rarely-used legal loophole that could let the suspected healthcare CEO killer walk free — even if the jury believes he is guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the cold-blooded murder.
The December 4 Legal Committee, which has raised more than $1.5 million for Mangione’s defense fund, is raising awareness about jury nullification, a legal power by which a defiant jury can find a defendant not guilty if they believe the law the accused is charged with breaking is unjust, The Times reported.
While rare since the 19th century, it’s used when a jury wants to “send a message about some social issue that is larger than the case itself, or because the result dictated by law is contrary to the jury’s sense of justice, morality, or fairness,” according to the Cornell Legal Information Institute.
Jamie Peck, one of two spokespeople for the December 4 Legal Committee, described jury nullification to The Times as “a beautiful feature of our justice system and really one of the only safeguards against tyranny that we have.”…