I think the only thing which would be a mitigating factor, or give me pause, if I was on that jury deciding Life/Death would be her BPD.
Now, if we do what the jury instructions say, we're first supposed to prove if it was "suffienciently proven." Well, I think it was proven by Juan, so that's proof, but at the same time the defense was trying to disprove it by saying no no, the BPD symptoms DeMarte found were actually from PTSD. But since I don't believe the PTSD, I would have to say that the BPD is accurate. However, the defense did muddle the water, but I will still say it's sufficiently proven.
Then I'm supposed to weigh it against the aggravating factor. Considering that she was NOT insane like in the sense of person who does not know what they're doing and not aware of what they're doing, then it doesn't "make up for" the severity of the crime. She was not mentally ill like we think of the people in asylum wards and things. Yes, she has some problem, but that doesn't outweigh the crime.
Also, her having BPD was something that COULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED by someone before. It's not Travis' fault that she didn't seek help for her problem. It's not even her parents fault if she refused to listen to them. It's not really her fault b/c I'm assuming part of the problem for people with this problem is that they are not aware they have a problem. But that still is not a factor that outweighs the crime, because it was not Travis' problem whether she had BPD or not.
Therefore, the mitigating factor does not outweight the aggravating = my vote is for the death penalty.
Other things I would consider are her age and no prior criminal history, but it doens't outweigh the aggravating factor. Even together with the BPD, it doesn't outweigh aggravator. So therefore, death penalty.
Now, if we do what the jury instructions say, we're first supposed to prove if it was "suffienciently proven." Well, I think it was proven by Juan, so that's proof, but at the same time the defense was trying to disprove it by saying no no, the BPD symptoms DeMarte found were actually from PTSD. But since I don't believe the PTSD, I would have to say that the BPD is accurate. However, the defense did muddle the water, but I will still say it's sufficiently proven.
Then I'm supposed to weigh it against the aggravating factor. Considering that she was NOT insane like in the sense of person who does not know what they're doing and not aware of what they're doing, then it doesn't "make up for" the severity of the crime. She was not mentally ill like we think of the people in asylum wards and things. Yes, she has some problem, but that doesn't outweigh the crime.
Also, her having BPD was something that COULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED by someone before. It's not Travis' fault that she didn't seek help for her problem. It's not even her parents fault if she refused to listen to them. It's not really her fault b/c I'm assuming part of the problem for people with this problem is that they are not aware they have a problem. But that still is not a factor that outweighs the crime, because it was not Travis' problem whether she had BPD or not.
Therefore, the mitigating factor does not outweight the aggravating = my vote is for the death penalty.
Other things I would consider are her age and no prior criminal history, but it doens't outweigh the aggravating factor. Even together with the BPD, it doesn't outweigh aggravator. So therefore, death penalty.
hoh: Curiosity kills cats? :scared:
