An article in The NY Times on January 14, 2025, "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served From the White House," quotes from a forthcoming book "The Science of Revenge." lt leads me to believe that to some jurors agreeing to a verdict amount to nullification, revenge for past grievances is the motivating factor. The author James Kimmel, Jr., states "Grievances are intensely painful and activate the pain network inside the brain...the brain is adverse to pain and seeks a compensating experience of pleasure...hurting the people who hurt us (or their proxies) is highly pleasurable." These grievances may be real or perceived (what's the difference?). Therefore, for example, in a criminal case, jurors aggrieved by the police or other governmental agency may acquit a defendant despite the evidence in order exact revenge. Kimmel opines that revenge-seeking can amount to an addiction, "an inability to resist an urge to do something that is harmful to yourself or others," says Kimmel.
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