*Huge Sigh of Relief*
Wow. I am so thankful for all of the hard work that was done by so many people to secure this guilty conviction.
I watched the video of Raffery's interrogation yesterday, and it really drove home what a sick person he is. It's strange to watch... it seems like he's somewhat in shock and upset, and putting all of his energy into controlling his words and body to reveal as little as possible (he sits, hands clenched together, staring down at the wall, without making eye contact). The extent to which he is totally self-centered and calculating becomes clear in the exchange over the food -- which is probably the most boring part of the interview, but still revealing in weird way:
(When the first detective is about to leave, he asks Rafferty if he wants something to eat. Rafferty totally stresses out about it, because he's hungry, but is obviously totally concerned with how he will be portrayed:
MR: you don't care if I want something to eat...
Detective: Explains that he doesn't have to ask, but he doesn't mind getting him something, not a big deal.
MR: Right, so I can eat and then you can say "look, he had an appetite, this is how he must have been feeling. Oh , he drank his tea, this is now he must have been feeling"... forget that he's just starving.
Detective: You're reading too much into it, man.
MR hems and haws, then asks: "and that doesn't go anywhere, into any of your reports, if I eat or don't eat"
Detective says no. Tries to put things in perspective that the whole interview is on tape, they could care less whether he eats or not.
MR hems and haws some more, then says he would take something to eat, but insists it must be something plain.)
It makes you realize what kind of dialogue must be going on in his head during the rest of the interview. Especially at the end in that painfully awkward part when he acts like he has an alibi, no big deal: "how long will it take to clear me?" but then as he is talking takes long drawn out pauses, finally sputtering out, then finally says he needs to do it through a lawyer. In retrospect, I think he's probably trying to calculate whether he can count on BA, Charity and possibly the other girls who he was around April 8/9th to be an alibi. (Maybe all of those phone calls, stops and 'dates' were not random...)
And yet, despite the fact that it's looking like he's in serious trouble, he's so smug at the end. When the detective says he will be arrested - he interrupts: "arrested, not convicted"
It left me really anxious about the verdict... So I am happy to see that his overconfidence was his own downfall. Good Riddance, Rafferty!
