[dillywho]

Originally Posted by PennBF

Dillywho, I agree with many of your points. Regarding Ashton his presentations may have gone over well if he was just dealing with the Judge. It has been the experience that Juries do not like this type of person and tend to give the benefit to the defense. Your right on perceptions and the impact on decisions. It is probable that within the first 5 days a half of the trial jurors had already decided on their vote. I would vote that it is either going to be a hung jury or a verdict that is much less than 1st degree murder? If she is convicted of 1st degress then I would vote that of course there will be an appeal, in fact when there is a 1st degree verdict it is automatically appealed. I would bet the farm the appeal will be won by the defense and it will be a mistrial. There are numerous errors that would cause a mistrial...

The reasons you cite here are exactly why I think JP will not go along with the death penalty if she is convicted of the dp charges and it is the jury's recommendation. The last thing he wants is a mistrial or reversal and there are many errors that could do it, as you pointed out. The appeals panel (or whatever they are) would definitely err themselves on the side of caution, especially in today's times and all the overturned decisions. JP would much rather see a mistrial based on trial error than a reversal at some later date.