Let’s have a poll of sorts.
Do you think the 4 will go to trial?
I might eat crow (won’t be my first crow dinner) but I don’t.
People like to think the defense/prosecutor are adversaries. Nothing is further from the truth. Both sides in a DP case are highly motivated to move towards speedy resolution. A plea with death off the table is a win-win. The defense (potentially) saves a life, the prosecutor wins because he has a conviction. Because a case is tried as DP is absolutely no assurance the end result will be death. Statistics show most end as LWOP. The same as a plea would likely be in these 4 cases.
After receipt of discovery the defense atty is remiss if he doesn’t advise his client he has no chance of a “not guilty” verdict. He is bound by law to suggest bargaining, statistics again reveal most defendants will opt for a deal over potential DP.
IMO, a bigger problem, if they opt for trial, is this: #1 is found guilty of murdering all 8 and receives his sentence.
#2 stands trial for murdering the same 8. But, someone is already under sentence for murdering the same 8. So now what? Even with a dif’ jury, I won’t buy into the “I’ve heard nothing about the first trial”, people lie to be chosen as a juror. They’re not thinking “civic duty”, they’re thinking book deals, tabloid tv interviews & fame.
I’m a realist. It is what it is, not what I want it to be.
May a higher power help us all if these go to trial and the jury pool is from the immediate area. Most of the people I observed today probably can’t write a three syllable word. No way could they understand legal jargon.