Even though the trial is over, I haven't really been able to shut off my mind and have been letting it all digest, and now I have a few more rambling thoughts and hope everyone will put up with me posting them.
Again, this could be a bit disjointed (as my mind is somewhat disjointed these days!) but try to bear with me. Sometimes it helps my train of thought to write things out.
First, arkansasmimi...THANK YOU for your time and invaluable research on this case. You have done so much digging on this and I know I'm not the only one here that appreciates the effort. Brava! It was very nice to be able to meet you, although I wish it had been under happier circumstances.
Mimi stated upthread that while she was interested in the case as a whole, the factual/discovery evidence angle was what seemed to draw her into this case the most (she missed her calling in life....should have been a CSI person! LOL It's never too late, mimi! You should go for it as you'd be great!), but I will admit that what sucked me in the most was the human interest side of the story. I started reading about it because it was local to me, but something about this story just drew me in and I wanted to know more than what the typical 6:00 newscast was telling me.
DO NOT GET ME WRONG! I'm also interested in the legal side. Laws are important and they are here to protect not only the Arron Lewis' of the world, but also the Jstkiddns. You, me, everyone else! Watching the recent Netflix doc "Making a Murderer" shows just how bad sketchy police work can be and they all need to be checked and held accountable. As in everything else in life, checks and balances are a good thing.
All of that being said, I'm 100% sure the investigators in this case got the right people and I am so thankful that they are being punished and very glad that Arron Lewis will no longer be living amongst us. He is a dangerous, dangerous man because in my opinion, he really does not have a conscience. He has never been and will never be anything but a predator feeding off anyone he thinks will further his agenda...be it for sex, money or security. He's always scheming and always thinking of how the current situation can be used to his advantage (ie: the prison lawsuits & being willing to sell his wife out for $5,000 to her ex-husband).
He (unconvincingly) stated in the trial that he still loved Crystal, but I honestly do not think the man is capable of that emotion. I have no idea if it's something genetic, his childhood or a combination of the two - nature vs nurture - but either way, the world is a much safer with him behind bars.
I'm just so very sorry that poor Beverly and her family had to pay such a high price in order for that to happen, but maybe her sacrifice saved another. I'm going to try to speak in as much "code" as I can right now in an attempt to be sensitive to the situation. I cannot convey how much it bothered me to hear the name of Lewis' stepchild come out of his mouth in court. I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT IT WAS NOT ANY BIG DEAL AND NOBODY BUT ME PROBABLY EVEN THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT IT....the name was just used in the normal course of trying to describe himself to the jury as a "house husband" and explain his daily duties....I fixed *** a lunch....I took *** to activites - I took *** to school....no big deal....but it was like it became really real to me that this child was living with this man and the mother had carelessly left the child in his care on what was seemingly a daily basis. As a parent, it was just one of those "skeve you out" moments.
Then I realized that if not for this event, said child could possibly still be around this man or another one just as bad, if not worse. Obviously mom was willing to have child and child's friends around very questionable people.
And were there other Crystals out there willing to have their children around Lewis? Sadly, I know the answer is yes, so in some weird way maybe Beverly was sacrificed, but maybe others have been saved. I know that's really reaching and maybe sound a bit weird, but it's just how I feel.
It's hard for me to debate the job the investigators did because they got the right guy. The case had to be proven to the jury 'beyond a reasonable doubt' but the case has been proven to Jstkiddn "beyond ANY doubt". Zero. None. Nada. They got their man. Any mistakes that were made were not done with malice or intent to frame someone. Always remember they were trying to find this woman alive. They were racing against the clock.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and there will *always* be mistakes made, especially in a situation where the stakes are so high. I have to always remember as the investigators were doing whatever they did in the early portions of this investigation, they were under the impression that they still had an opportunity to find Beverly alive. Why were they under that impression? Arron Lewis is why. These were not "evil cops" trying to pin something on an innocent man. These were people desperately trying to bring a very loved woman home to her family.
Yet, I hope they have learned from this and they have studied their mistakes in order to prepare them for the eventual repeat of a similar type of crime. Were there areas where they could have done better? OF COURSE!! There will always be those areas and while I'm not involved in law enforcement or the legal world, I have been around this world long enough to know that nothing is going to be flawless. Ever.
I'm no legal scholar, but I think it's going to be a reach on appeal and I could tell from that interview with Bill James I watched last night that he probably feels the same way. I'm pretty sure the words he used were "we'll see". That was not the same blustery Bill James I saw performing in the courtroom. That was the real Bill James and I can tell the real Bill James is not super sure of any appeal right now. He wasn't going to put himself out there and act sure about anything because he's very, very far from being sure about any of it because he has a fairly weak case.
Of course, I'm sure he's going to go for it with all his might because it would be a huge feather in his cap....so to use his same words....we'll see. Another thing I've learned in life is to never say never. I'm hoping for the best and hoping that soon this case will finally be able to be put in the history books never to be revisited.