Transcripts from the jury selection process for Martin Shkreli's trial have revealed that over 200 potential jurors were dismissed because they found him so repugnant.
Shkreli achieved notoriety after he purchased the rights to a vital HIV drug and raised the price by 5,000%. He also hiked the cost of the EpiPen, an emergency allergy injection, by 400%. The 34-year-old entrepreneur was standing trial in the New York federal court on unrelated charges, having been accused of defrauding investors in his two hedge funds out of millions of dollars and repaying them by raiding a biotech company he founded. But his reputation as a mercenary 'pharma bro' hung heavy, as revealed by jury selection transcripts published by Harpers. More than 200 people had to be excused from jury duty, primarily because they expressed a deep, instinctive desire to slap Shkreli. Here is a small selection:
Juror No. 1
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.
Shkreli's lawyer: I’m sorry.
Juror no. 1: I think he’s a greedy little man.
The court: Jurors are obligated to decide the case based only on the evidence. Do you agree?
Juror no. 1: I don’t know if I could. I wouldn’t want me on this jury.
The court: Juror Number 1 is excused.
Juror No. 52
The court: Juror Number 52, how are you?
Juror no. 52: 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.
Shkreli's lawyer: So much for the presumption of innocence.
The court: We will excuse Juror Number 52.
Juror No. 77
The court: Juror Number 77.
Juror no. 77: From everything I’ve seen on the news, everything I’ve read, I believe the defendant is the face of corporate greed in America.
Shkreli's lawyer: We would object.
Juror no. 77: You’d have to convince me he was innocent rather than guilty.
The court: I will excuse this juror.
Juror No. 144
The court: Juror Number 144, tell us what you have heard.
Juror no. 144: I heard through the news of how the defendant changed the price of a pill by up-selling it. I heard he bought an album from the Wu-Tang Clan for a million dollars.
The court: The question is, have you heard anything that would affect your ability to decide this case with an open mind. Can you do that?
Juror no. 144: I don’t think I can because he kind of looks like a dick.
The court: You are Juror Number 144 and we will excuse you.
Juror No. 155
The court: Come forward, Juror Number 155.
Juror no. 155: I have read a lot of articles about the case. I think he is as guilty as they come.
The court: Then I will excuse you from this case.
Juror No. 10
The court: Juror Number 10, please come forward.
Juror no. 10: The only thing I’d be impartial about is what prison this guy goes to.
The court: Okay. We will excuse you.
Juror No. 28
The court: Juror 28, do you need to be heard?
Juror no. 28: I don’t like this person at all. I just can’t understand why he would be so stupid as to take an antibiotic which H.I.V. people need and jack it up five thousand percent. I would honestly, like, seriously like to go over there -
The court: Sir, thank you.
Juror no. 28: Is he stupid or greedy? I can’t understand.
The court: We will excuse you.
Juror No. 41
The court: Juror 41, are you coming up?
Juror no. 41: I was looking yesterday in the newspaper and I saw the defendant. There was something about him. I can’t be fair. There was something that didn’t look right.
The court: All right. I’m going to excuse you.
Juror No. 59
The court: Juror Number 59, come on up.
Juror no. 59: Your Honour, totally he is guilty and in no way can I let him slide out of anything because -
The court: Okay. Is that your attitude toward anyone charged with a crime who has not been proven guilty?
Juror no. 59: It’s my attitude toward his entire demeanor, what he has done to people.
The court: All right. We are going to excuse you, sir.
Juror no. 59: And he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan.
The federal jury that was eventually cobbled together from the only 12 people who didn't want to punch Shkreli on sight found him guilty of three counts of securities fraud, but acquitted him of five other counts. Outside court, Shkreli, who remains free on $5 million bail and actually paid $2 million for the only copy of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, said the case "was a witch hunt of epic proportions and maybe they found one or two broomsticks".
Tip Off ROF
Shkreli achieved notoriety after he purchased the rights to a vital HIV drug and raised the price by 5,000%. He also hiked the cost of the EpiPen, an emergency allergy injection, by 400%. The 34-year-old entrepreneur was standing trial in the New York federal court on unrelated charges, having been accused of defrauding investors in his two hedge funds out of millions of dollars and repaying them by raiding a biotech company he founded. But his reputation as a mercenary 'pharma bro' hung heavy, as revealed by jury selection transcripts published by Harpers. More than 200 people had to be excused from jury duty, primarily because they expressed a deep, instinctive desire to slap Shkreli. Here is a small selection:
Juror No. 1
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.
Shkreli's lawyer: I’m sorry.
Juror no. 1: I think he’s a greedy little man.
The court: Jurors are obligated to decide the case based only on the evidence. Do you agree?
Juror no. 1: I don’t know if I could. I wouldn’t want me on this jury.
The court: Juror Number 1 is excused.
Juror No. 52
The court: Juror Number 52, how are you?
Juror no. 52: 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.
Shkreli's lawyer: So much for the presumption of innocence.
The court: We will excuse Juror Number 52.
Juror No. 77
The court: Juror Number 77.
Juror no. 77: From everything I’ve seen on the news, everything I’ve read, I believe the defendant is the face of corporate greed in America.
Shkreli's lawyer: We would object.
Juror no. 77: You’d have to convince me he was innocent rather than guilty.
The court: I will excuse this juror.
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The court artists certainly hated him. |
Juror No. 144
The court: Juror Number 144, tell us what you have heard.
Juror no. 144: I heard through the news of how the defendant changed the price of a pill by up-selling it. I heard he bought an album from the Wu-Tang Clan for a million dollars.
The court: The question is, have you heard anything that would affect your ability to decide this case with an open mind. Can you do that?
Juror no. 144: I don’t think I can because he kind of looks like a dick.
The court: You are Juror Number 144 and we will excuse you.
Juror No. 155
The court: Come forward, Juror Number 155.
Juror no. 155: I have read a lot of articles about the case. I think he is as guilty as they come.
The court: Then I will excuse you from this case.
Juror No. 10
The court: Juror Number 10, please come forward.
Juror no. 10: The only thing I’d be impartial about is what prison this guy goes to.
The court: Okay. We will excuse you.
Juror No. 28
The court: Juror 28, do you need to be heard?
Juror no. 28: I don’t like this person at all. I just can’t understand why he would be so stupid as to take an antibiotic which H.I.V. people need and jack it up five thousand percent. I would honestly, like, seriously like to go over there -
The court: Sir, thank you.
Juror no. 28: Is he stupid or greedy? I can’t understand.
The court: We will excuse you.
Juror No. 41
The court: Juror 41, are you coming up?
Juror no. 41: I was looking yesterday in the newspaper and I saw the defendant. There was something about him. I can’t be fair. There was something that didn’t look right.
The court: All right. I’m going to excuse you.
Juror No. 59
The court: Juror Number 59, come on up.
Juror no. 59: Your Honour, totally he is guilty and in no way can I let him slide out of anything because -
The court: Okay. Is that your attitude toward anyone charged with a crime who has not been proven guilty?
Juror no. 59: It’s my attitude toward his entire demeanor, what he has done to people.
The court: All right. We are going to excuse you, sir.
Juror no. 59: And he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan.
The federal jury that was eventually cobbled together from the only 12 people who didn't want to punch Shkreli on sight found him guilty of three counts of securities fraud, but acquitted him of five other counts. Outside court, Shkreli, who remains free on $5 million bail and actually paid $2 million for the only copy of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, said the case "was a witch hunt of epic proportions and maybe they found one or two broomsticks".
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Shkreli's lawyer: We would object".
At this point I could not stop laughing.
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