> From what little I know about it, it seems that if enough people in a community knew about it, they could 100% control what crimes are punished in that community.
Only in one direction, I think. Jury nullification still can't render a guilty verdict, when the law says the defendant ain't guilty. (At least in principle.)
If a community really wants to severely punish something that's legally not a crime, jury nullification enables the community representatives to enact whatever extrajudicial punishment they want (e.g. the existing examples of lynching or "honor killings"/"honor rapes" in certain communities) and then protect these punishers from the legal system.
Only in one direction, I think. Jury nullification still can't render a guilty verdict, when the law says the defendant ain't guilty. (At least in principle.)