We may never know the full story behind KM's and SG's seemingly irrational decision-making. However, I believe the letter SG penned suggests some factors in play. His fixation on his appeals is fascinating -- as is his romantic view that he and KM are star-crossed lovers battling "the other side" together. From the tenor of the letter and its contents, I believe this is a peek into a shared fantasy the two have engaged in since their respective arrests. He refers to her "pursuit of justice" and addresses her as a sort of "fallen" team member as he exhorts her to carry on. What I find interesting is his level of denial with respect to their predicament. The man had absolutely no realistic hope of acquittal given the prodigious amount of evidence against him and any belief there was reversible error for his conviction in this trial borders on magical thinking. My guess is they both see themselves as perversely heroic figures fighting "the man" with little ability or willingness to accept the truly dire situation they are in. This man is going to die in prison, but he paints himself as a brave warrior pledging his undying love to KM. I think we can assume Katie has encouraged this viewpoint and she, no doubt, has painted herself as a brave and oppressed partner. Several days ago I commented that we shouldn't discount the power of psychological avoidance. To us, it is inconceivable that KM would turn down immunity in exchange for helping the State convict the Adelsons and SG. However, doing so would have required publicly confessing her participation in an ineffably callous crime and accepting ownership of a heart black enough to extinguish the life of a young father -- all while assisting the State in putting her children's dad away for life. KM doesn't seem to be a particularly hardened street-chick. Indeed, the photo of her in her bikini with WA and tales of her driving Charlie's Ferrari portray a young woman hoping to travel in circles far removed from such a tawdry, violent crime. By pretending to be oppressed victims of unscrupulous prosecutors, she and SG have created a romantic narrative for themselves that allows them to simply avoid confronting or accepting who they really are.
It is certainly possible that the Adelsons are puppet masters influencing KM. However, this letter and KM's behavior on the stand convince me it is equally likely we are witnessing a couple desperately in denial and willing to accept prison rather than face the opprobrium and self-loathing that would accompany an admission of guilt. SG's pleading to KM that "I need you more than ever" and his pledge to fight to his last breath on appeal indicates that he's completely bought into the shared fantasy that she might yet escape. I imagine there have been many letters and verbal messages passed between attorneys over the past several years that have fed this unique folie a deux (a psychiatric syndrome in which symptoms of a delusional belief are shared by two people).
