This is what truly angers people.....
Well, about that (not sure what it has to do with this thread)
MINNEAPOLIS — After Hennepin County Judge Sarah West
set aside a jury's guilty verdict in a $7.2 million fraud case, the KARE 11 report that broke the story went viral. Much of the reaction centered around criticism of the judge taking the decision out of the jury's hands.
That led Samantha Ealy, a 28-year-old member of the jury that rendered the verdict, to reach out to KARE 11 and share that she now has a different viewpoint.
"I agree with her decision. There was fraud going on, but Mr. Yusuf may not have known about it," Ealy said.
In an interview, Ealy stated that during the August trial and in her deliberations with 11 fellow jurors, she believed that Abdifatah Yusuf knowingly engaged in aiding and abetting theft by swindle.
But in her review of the testimony and evidence while deciding a defense motion for acquittal, Judge West decided that it was possible that Yusuf's brother, who managed the company, committed all the fraud and that Yusuf himself was unaware of it. That "reasonable hypothesis" other than guilty, under Minnesota's standard of review in circumstantial evidence cases, warranted a judgment of acquittal, West ruled.
After reading through Judge West's memorandum, Ealy changed her viewpoint.
"That jump from 'Oh, I'm getting a lot of money; this is a little suspicious,' to 'Oh, they're committing fraud specifically,' that does not necessarily constitute that (Yusuf) knew what was happening in the company," Ealy said.
Ealy said she supports the various checks and balances in the legal system and would agree with whichever decision the appeals court makes.
he's also a murderer
