More than 200 potential jurors were dismissed from the trial of a man famous for raising the price of a drug used to help Aids patients by 5,000% after they claimed to be biased against the pharmaceuticals CEO, it has been reported.
Hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli was found guilty on August 4 of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy over allegations he misled investors into stumping up cash for failing hedge funds. He was cleared of five other fraud and conspiracy charges.
The charges and convictions were unrelated to his famous drugs price hike.
Harpers tracked down and published what it said was portions of the juror transcripts.
However, it seems his public grandstanding and even his acquisition of the Wu Tang Clan’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album – of which only one copy was made – made more than a few potential jurors too biased towards him to give Shkreli a fair hearing.
Over 200 of them were dismissed before the start of the trial in June, overseen by Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, according to an American magazine.
Proceedings didn’t start well:
The Court: The purpose of jury selection is to ensure fairness and impartiality in this case. If you think that you could not be fair and impartial, it is your duty to tell me. All right. Juror Number 1.
Juror no. 1: I’m aware of the defendant and I hate him.
This juror went on to describe Shkreli as a “greedy little man”, and said he could not decide the case based only on evidence.
Another juror, number 52, said: “When I walked in here today I looked at him, and in my head, that’s a snake — not knowing who he was. I just walked in and looked right at him and that’s a snake.”
The list of jurors and biases goes on, with many citing family in need of various pharmaceuticals and one even saying “he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan”.
Juror 125 told the judge: “I’ve read extensively about Martin’s shameful past and his ripping off sick people and it hits close to me.”
Despite being told this case was unrelated to the price rise, the juror concluded “I already sense the man is guilty”. The juror was dismissed.
The transcript makes for interesting reading, particularly when read alongside Shkreli’s post verdict Facebook post.
I'm delighted with the outcome of the insane witch hunt against me. The government concocted a fantasy world of eight…Posted by Martin Shkreli on Saturday, August 5, 2017
In it, he wrote: “Facing little to no jail time and having stood up to the government face-to-face with no fear, I feel like I can do anything.”
Shkreli is yet to be sentenced.
