This discussion on clothing worn in court reminds me of a couple of cases. Jose Baez had Casey Anthony wear tops whose sleeves were too long, making her look like a smaller person, perhaps more childlike. And it was discussed that while sitting at the defense table, her chair was positioned lower than the others, creating a similar effect. The Menendez brothers wore shirts with sweaters, making them seem boyish, kind of old-school frat boys perhaps, and they were often referred to as "boys". Clothes can give off these subliminal messages. But having served as a juror 3 times in 2 different states, I will say that it's the evidence presented that convicts, or frees.
Fascinating.
Kohberger's clothes IMO position him as if he were a sharply dressed part of the team of lawyers.
It's not just any suit, it's fairly well fitted to him and makes him look as if he had some authority. I was just going over the literature on suit-wearing recently (for an entirely different reason) and while there's nothing really recent on the topic, I think we all know what a man in a suit messages. He looks "well put together."
One thing I find interesting about suit-wearing Kohberger is that the jury will eventually learn that he is in fact, a student. He is dressed up and playing an adult in court, basically. The suit does make him look more mature, IOW. He'll look even older by the time this comes to trial.
Isn't there a motion to stop the clock on speedy trial while they handle however many Defense motions may arise?
This isn't going to go to trial in October, IMO. The legal dance has to be done first and I expect the Court will stop the clock for the motions, but would love to hear others' views. It's interesting to think that the Defense has a budget for all of this. But that budget cannot be unlimited, IMO.
Do you foresee the prosecution using the same ideas you have noted as the 'MOTIVE'?
Motive is not needed for First Degree Murder in this case. Prosecution would run the risk of developing a more sympathetic view for the jury. Defense is clearly committed, so far, to presenting him as "normal." However, I do believe that when he is convicted (and the more stalling done by the Defense, and the more spin they try to use, the more I'm convinced he'll be convicted), then they'll use that part of the story.
If I'm right about how Kohberger handles stress, it's partly a form of self-harm and self-risk and partly giant acting out against society, small towns, students, and his own family. It's in keeping with him doing stuff like stealing his sister's phone - but now at a level that is almost unbelievable. I didn't realize until this case came along that homicidal ideation is uncommon in adolescence - but that it peaks at 15, appears more often in males, and it is much higher in people with certain conditions (the list of conditions is not fully known). There is something adolescent about Kohberger's behavior in that traffic stop with the woman policeman. There was something adolescent about him in general, which may be why he has that little fan club.
But when he wears the suit to court, he looks fully grown up and mature. Sharp and competent.
Studies of convicted (young) murderers show that they have a history of homicidal ideation and one other symptom (paranoia) is consistently associated with homicidal ideation. One study found that motives were divided almost equally between "criminal" (homicide in the commission of some criminal act) and "conflict-based," meaning there was a perceived interpersonal conflict going on between young murderer and victim (usually a family member).
This study investigates diagnostic, behavioral, offense, and classification characteristics of juvenile murderers.Twenty-five homicidal children and a…
www.sciencedirect.com
I am not sure why I find the literature on younger murderers intriguing, in this case, as obviously Kohberger was almost 30. I guess I'm thinking about other similar crimes and how Kohberger seems like he's at a younger stage of development than most 30 year olds in terms of his impulsivity and reactivity to events - including his altercations with the professor, his making others uncomfortable etc).
This is not a man possessed of a great deal of insight. He may also have a tendency to believe that others think as he does or that whatever comes into his mind is true and accurate (he probably thinks he has a lot of mental discipline and that by commanding himself to think about one thing or another, he's being "normal" and "prudent"). Since he obviously loses control over behaviors that can't possibly benefit himself or others, his mental self-control is necessary, but it's not "normal." Most people with homicidal ideas never act out on them.
There's still a very long way to go with this kind of research and it's one of the hardest areas of psychiatry/psychology to study experimentally. It almost compels some kind of clinical research. But most people who murder have not sought out clinical treatment beforehand.
IMO.
