I wonder if the case could be made that his immersion in horrorcore put him in a mental place where he couldn't distinguish right from wrong when it came to killing. I can even see them using some of the stuff Sam may have done after the murders to show how he was "livin' the dream." The nightmare, whatever.
Just pondering....
That would be a fun and interesting defense to try but since this is a possible DP case I would not risk Sam's life trying to pull such a rabbit out of my hat. I personally would not even try an insanity defense in this case but I would put all the experts pertaining to both a 'horrocore delusion' and insanity defense on the stand only for purposes of getting the DP off the table and getting a lighter sentence. I would not put the jury in position where all they have to choose from is NG by reason of insanity or guilty and sentenced to death.
I dont know the material facts/evidence of the case well enough to come up with a real defense strategy at this time, I dont know if the defense is going to come right out and admit that he did commit the murders and then explain his reasons for doing so which would then include the introduction of mental health issues etc or whether they will play their cards close to the chest and never admit to anything and simply make the state prove he did it, which I dont think the State will have a problem doing so it may be better off stipulating right off the bat that yes he did kill them but here is why, this may be the only way to save Sam's life. An acquittal is out of the question unless the state really mishandled things or bungled the investigation to the point of embarrasment and I see no evidence for that.
Playing things too close to the chest and being tight lipped and never admitting to the murders will make Sam appear cold to the jury so I do think the defense is going to have to just admit it and then spend their time putting on a case explaining why he did it, what led to it, his mental health issues and the horrorcore connection etc.
On the other hand, I have been speaking to someone who is in contact with Sam and I am not really at liberty at this point to diclose whats been said, but just from how Sam is acting it almost seems to me that he feels he needed to do this for some reason so we cant dismiss the idea, however far-reaching and remote that something may have went down inside that house that led to this and it was not as simple as Sam losing it and murdering them all for no good reason. It would certianly be hard IMO to argue justifiable homicide here but we dont know what went on in that house. This is all pure speculation on my part and I have no real evidence to suggest this is how Sam feels, it is only a feeling I get from reading the letters he has sent others and hearing of how he his responding to all of this. I very much get the impression that Sam really, really wants to share his side of the story with everyone but simply cant do it at this time and I have to assume that his story will consist of something of more substance and importance than "She pissed me off and I wiped them all out in a fit of rage." I sense he has something to tell us that may make is all rethink everything we have considered up to this point but again that is only my reading of the situation and I may be way off.
There was a very similar case several years ago where a young man had come to meet a girl in a similar manner and went to visit her and her family and upon arriving he had found out that the parents were sexually abusing the girl and the siblings and apparently tried to molest him as well and he was so repulsed by it that he wiped the entire family out including the siblings who simply got caught in the middle of the murder of the mother and father and lost their lives along with them. I recall this case was in Austrialia I believe and the kid did serve some time but it wasnt as much as one would first assume.
There is no reason to believe anything like this played a role in this case but again without knowing all the facts and exactly what went down inside that house and what Sam has to say for himself regarding why he feels this had to happen, we really do not have much to go on.
I will say this much, from day one until now I have been unable, no matter how hard I try, to see Sam as a cold blooded killer and I still think there is more to this case than meets the eye and we are all going to be in for some very interesting twists and turns along the way once the trial starts and I am pretty sure at this point that there will be a trial and this will not be plead out.