Posted on 08/24/2026 5:39:56 AM PDT by V_TWIN
The U.S. court system is 100% broken, and nothing shows that fact better than this case out of Pennsylvania.
Safon Gump was accused of fatally shooting Gregory Prince, but the trial that would have brought justice to Gump derailed because one of the jurors got high in the jury room.
Because Gump remains in custody — and court rules prohibit jurors from seeing a defendant in handcuffs for fear it could prejudice them — jurors were returned to their fifth-floor room to await the all clear to leave for lunch.
When Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski's tipstaff arrived to release the jurors, Seman said, ‘He's immediately hit with the smell of marijuana.'
Then, one of the jurors ‘looked at him and said, 'It wasn't me."'
This is where things really went off the rails.
The prosecution and the defense both agreed that if the juror had a prescription it was fine, and the judge said no one would be in trouble for the incident, but all the jurors also swore that they were not taking any medications that could affect their judgment in the case, so the judge needed to figure out who it was.
One by one, the jurors were brought to the judge's chambers privately and questioned.
They all answered no in chambers, as well.
The judge also asked the jurors if anyone had ingested anything legally or illegally while in the jury room.
‘All of them denied it,' Seman said.
The defense asked for a mistrial and the judge agreed to it.
Another potential murderer is back out on the streets — at least, until March, when they'll try a trial again.
(Excerpt) Read more at notthebee.com ...
Since a bag of coke was discovered in The White House not a lot surprises me anymore when it comes to drug use.
Is Safon Forrest’s brother? (asking for a friend)
“Just a bunch of nonsensical hyperbole for clicks.”
Hard to believe a website called “notthebee” would do that.
Ever since the Clintons desecrated the White House with their stench, it has been that way.................
I’m beginning to suspect FR is completely dominated by 80 y/o curmudgeons
Came into the judges chambers and he could no longer smell it on them?
TBH, when I first read this story my initial reaction was I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now 🙄
If they were all in the jury room together they probably ALL smelled like pot.
AT LEAST one person is lying.
Im surprised the judge didn’t call for a drug screen of all the jurors....but he probably didn’t want to know.
“He’s immediately hit with the smell of marijuana.”
It also could have been someone’s cologne or perfume.............
A smart pot head would have just ate the pot...the high is pretty much the same without the stench.......well, that’s what I heard anyway. 😏
No, it isn't. I've served on a jury and was struck with how fair the system is. Do mistakes happen? Of course they do, but the judge was right to declare a mistrial in this case.
caveat: Not a legal scholar.
I doubt that ordering drug-testing of the jurots would be within the judge’s purview.
Matt Foley tended to get a bit wound up sometimes.
I’m beginning to suspect FR is completely dominated by 80 y/o curmudgeons
What makes you say that?
A lot of sense of humor challenged people on this forum for one thing
A lot of sense of humor challenged people on this forum for one thing
Well I guess that includes me, then, because I don’t see anything funny about an alleged murderer being let out of jail for the next 7 months because some scoff law fool couldn’t wait until he got home to get loaded.
Ya think?
They could plant a narc in the jury to rat out the culprit in every trial.

"I resemble that remark!"
The defendant was entitled to a jury of his peers.
He got exactly that.
They would have exonerated him anyway.
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