If innocent, would a press conference help Terri?

[Aedrys]

Sorry, the off topic thing was my fault. I don't think a press conference would do her any good at all. I guess this is one of those days where I'm running off at the bit. Didn't mean to derail the thread.

 

[Donjeta]

All it takes is a google search to see why Terri would consider hiring an attorney. IMO, she waited far too long.

But back on topic, aside from the fact that it could only hurt her, there's no reason for her to speak out. She doesn't need to convince anyone, and she wouldn't in any case.

I don't think we can talk for the whole world and confidently state that she wouldn't convince anyone when we don't even know what she'd have to say for herself if she chose to speak. It is a bit insulting for the whole world IMO because it is assumed that everybody is so stubbornly stuck on their opinions that not a single soul could be convinced if a good logical argument was made presenting good reasons for thinking differently.

She doesn't have to convince the public opinion to avoid being convicted, just the jury, but IMO if she never gets charged she might wish that she'd have attempted to do something about the public opinion at some point because she's going to have to live with herself and it will be a dreadful burden for her if a lot of people around her think she got away with murder.

 

[Billylee]

desquire desquire is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calliope View Post
I'd like to add to this, if I may.

It's my understanding that once a person is charged and going to trial, the DA must allow the defense access to their evidence to be used against the defendant. Do any legal requirements of that sort exist before a person is arrested and charged? Would Houze have any access to all that the DA and LE have on Terri, beyond what they choose to tell / show him?
Once the accused has been arraigned (formally charged in court), the defense is entitled to discovery of all witnesses and evidence that the prosecution intends to introduce. The prosecutor doesn't need to turn over everything they have, just everything that they may use at trial. The exception to this would be any exculpatory evidence that the prosecutor may be aware of even if he, obviously, would not be introducing it at trial.

Until she's arrested and charged,Terri isn't entitled to know anything. Unless Houze is sleeping with and/or paying off someone within the sheriff's or prosecutor's office who doesn't care much about retaining their employment, it's unlikely that he has any better idea of what the prosecution's case may be than we do. The only inside window he probably has at this point is knowledge of the lines of questioning LE has taken with Terri and the assumptions to be drawn from that.


Thank you for that info Desquire. IMHO this is why we have heard nothing from Terri's side. You cannot defend what you do not know, they are awaiting a charge(s) before they say anything, which is not just prudent, but totally necessary.

 

[Calliope]

I don't think we can talk for the whole world and confidently state that she wouldn't convince anyone when we don't even know what she'd have to say for herself if she chose to speak. It is a bit insulting for the whole world IMO because it is assumed that everybody is so stubbornly stuck on their opinions that not a single soul could be convinced if a good logical argument was made presenting good reasons for thinking differently.

She doesn't have to convince the public opinion to avoid being convicted, just the jury, but IMO if she never gets charged she might wish that she'd have attempted to do something about the public opinion at some point because she's going to have to live with herself and it will be a dreadful burden for her if a lot of people around her think she got away with murder.

Well, I wasn't clear. IMO her attorney isn't going to allow her to get that detailed. If she spoke out it would simply be along the lines of 'I'm innocent in Kyron's disappearance.' Facing possible criminal charges, she's not going to get detailed enough with her alibi to change anyone's mind. I don't see him allowing her to speak out in any case. Grainne Dhu made an excellent point. If her lawyer thinks he may have to request a change of venue, then he can't be having her contribute to the publicity by speaking out.

 

[Calliope]

desquire desquire is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calliope View Post
I'd like to add to this, if I may.

It's my understanding that once a person is charged and going to trial, the DA must allow the defense access to their evidence to be used against the defendant. Do any legal requirements of that sort exist before a person is arrested and charged? Would Houze have any access to all that the DA and LE have on Terri, beyond what they choose to tell / show him?
Once the accused has been arraigned (formally charged in court), the defense is entitled to discovery of all witnesses and evidence that the prosecution intends to introduce. The prosecutor doesn't need to turn over everything they have, just everything that they may use at trial. The exception to this would be any exculpatory evidence that the prosecutor may be aware of even if he, obviously, would not be introducing it at trial.

Until she's arrested and charged,Terri isn't entitled to know anything. Unless Houze is sleeping with and/or paying off someone within the sheriff's or prosecutor's office who doesn't care much about retaining their employment, it's unlikely that he has any better idea of what the prosecution's case may be than we do. The only inside window he probably has at this point is knowledge of the lines of questioning LE has taken with Terri and the assumptions to be drawn from that.


Thank you for that info Desquire. IMHO this is why we have heard nothing from Terri's side. You cannot defend what you do not know, they are awaiting a charge(s) before they say anything, which is not just prudent, but totally necessary.

Well there ya go. Thanks Desquire.

 

[eyes4crime]

I never said I wouldn't get any lawyer or at least look for legal advice. I'm saying the first thing on my mind would not be getting the best dang lawyer in Oregon on retainer when I haven't even been charged with anything, especially if I can't pay for that lawyer. I am a poor person. I can't afford the likes of Houze nor would be I able to retain him. I'm not saying I wouldn't look for a good lawyer, but I certainly don't have the money for the best lawyer in the whole state where I live either.

So yeah, she got her high priced, hot shot lawyer when she's not even charged with anything, when it's just suspicion? When, like some keep asserting, there's no evidence that she's done anything wrong to anybody? That doesn't look like an innocent person to me.

I don't know about you, but I can't afford to get a lawyer everytime I feel like I need one. I would only get a lawyer if it's absolutely necessary to do so. What if this goes on for years? Is Houze really going to stay on retainer for her if this doesn't end for five, ten, fifteen or more years? I know I could never ever afford that.

BBM

Kyron is missing from school and Terri is the one and only person being looked at by LE. She is the focus of their criminal investigation. By process of elimination Terri is their one and only suspect! Let's not overlook the seriousness of this. We aren't discussing a car theft, this could very well turn into a murder one charge. moo

Murder one - premeditated murder with possibility of the death penalty.

With that in mind - what good would she do her baby girl sitting on death row? With that in mind, how can anyone question her need for the best defense attorney possible? Her life is at stake!

I know what I would do!

Just my opinions

 

[pufnstuf]

Sorry, the off topic thing was my fault. I don't think a press conference would do her any good at all. I guess this is one of those days where I'm running off at the bit. Didn't mean to derail the thread.

I didn't think that you did. You can't derail it by yourself, anyway. This topic is very interesting, and I appreciate your input, and also the thread being started...

My opinion:

If I were Terri, I'd have hired a defense attorney the moment that I felt I was being targeted in the investigation. I would have ceased talking to investigators as soon as it felt like the questions were indicative of me being suspected as playing a role in the child's disappearance.

However, Terri didn't hire an attorney until much later. Why not? In my opinion, it's because she thinks of herself as an intelligent creature who's far smarter than her husband, the investigators, the DA, and the public. She thought that she had planned the crime so perfectly that her answers would allay any suspicions of her participation in Kyron's disappearance. Only when her answers to investigators' questions did not suffice, only when her domestic strife snowballed out of her control and her husband moved out, only when she became the primary interest of LE did she hire Houze.

Me? If I were Terri, I'd have sought a defense attorney when the questionnaire with specific questions about me was mailed out, if not before. But Terri thought that she could use her "charm" to answer any questions, and that LE would be content with her explanation. To Terri, her public persona is everything, and hiring a criminal defense attorney earlier than she did would have, in her eyes, been tantamount to an admission of guilt...it would mean that her facade was crumbling. She knew that the moment she hired a defense attorney, it would mean the end of her marriage, the end of her hopes to teach in a classroom, the end of her supermom reputation. I think she thought that if she just kept BSing, the problem would go away. It didn't.

Here's something else to consider. Houze's strength isn't only in his ability to present a defense in the courtroom. He's also a master negotiator. If and when Terri faces charges, we'll see the negotiator go to work. There may never be a trial.

As usual, all my opinion, based on my interpretation of everything that I've read.

 

[Calliope]

Why not? In my opinion, it's because she thinks of herself as an intelligent creature who's far smarter than her husband, the investigators, the DA, and the public. She thought that she had planned the crime so perfectly that her answers would allay any suspicions of her participation in Kyron's disappearance. Only when her answers to investigators' questions did not suffice, only when her domestic strife snowballed out of her control and her husband moved out, only when she became the primary interest of LE did she hire Houze.

Or, she may have felt like so many do that an innocent person has no need to hire a defense attorney.

 

[Aedrys]

BBM

Kyron is missing from school and Terri is the one and only person being looked at by LE. She is the focus of their criminal investigation. By process of elimination Terri is their one and only suspect! Let's not overlook the seriousness of this. We aren't discussing a car theft, this could very well turn into a murder one charge. moo

Murder one - premeditated murder with possibility of the death penalty.

With that in mind - what good would she do her baby girl sitting on death row? With that in mind, how can anyone question her need for the best defense attorney possible? Her life is at stake!

I know what I would do!

Just my opinions

But how is her life at stake when she hasn't been charge with a single thing yet? The police won't even say she's a POI and haven't charged her. She is jumping the shark by getting the best defense attorney when there is nothing for her to have a defense for yet. She can't sit on death row without being charged and then convicted of a crime first. LE doesn't know if Kyron is alive or dead because they don't have his whereabouts or his body yet. Heck, they don't even know WHAT to charge her with yet because of that. It's not impossible to get convicted without a body, but I think it'd be really hard in this case. Bottom line, she hasn't been charged with any crime just yet.

Honestly, I think she got the lawyer because she sucks at her own PR and was damaging her reputation more and more by the second. The one good thing Houze has done for her is get her to shut up and stay hidden instead of continuing sexcapades and batphones and God knows what else she would done if Houze didn't have her muzzled and on a tight leash. So if anything, she needed a lawyer to restrain her because she obviously can't restrain herself. I think it also goes to her ego as well. In either case, apparently only Oregon's best was good enough for her.

 

[pufnstuf]

....The one good thing Houze has done for her is get her to shut up and stay hidden instead of continuing sexcapades and batphones and God knows what else she would done if Houze didn't have her muzzled and on a tight leash.

That hit my funny bone. :floorlaugh:

 

[pufnstuf]

what good would she do her baby girl sitting on death row? (snipped)

What good is she doing for her baby girl by not fighting for custody of her?

 

[wondering1]

I didn't think that you did. You can't derail it by yourself, anyway. This topic is very interesting, and I appreciate your input, and also the thread being started...

My opinion:

If I were Terri, I'd have hired a defense attorney the moment that I felt I was being targeted in the investigation. I would have ceased talking to investigators as soon as it felt like the questions were indicative of me being suspected as playing a role in the child's disappearance.

However, Terri didn't hire an attorney until much later. Why not? In my opinion, it's because she thinks of herself as an intelligent creature who's far smarter than her husband, the investigators, the DA, and the public. She thought that she had planned the crime so perfectly that her answers would allay any suspicions of her participation in Kyron's disappearance. Only when her answers to investigators' questions did not suffice, only when her domestic strife snowballed out of her control and her husband moved out, only when she became the primary interest of LE did she hire Houze.

Me? If I were Terri, I'd have sought a defense attorney when the questionnaire with specific questions about me was mailed out, if not before. But Terri thought that she could use her "charm" to answer any questions, and that LE would be content with her explanation. To Terri, her public persona is everything, and hiring a criminal defense attorney earlier than she did would have, in her eyes, been tantamount to an admission of guilt...it would mean that her facade was crumbling. She knew that the moment she hired a defense attorney, it would mean the end of her marriage, the end of her hopes to teach in a classroom, the end of her supermom reputation. I think she thought that if she just kept BSing, the problem would go away. It didn't.

Here's something else to consider. Houze's strength isn't only in his ability to present a defense in the courtroom. He's also a master negotiator. If and when Terri faces charges, we'll see the negotiator go to work. There may never be a trial.
As usual, all my opinion, based on my interpretation of everything that I've read.

ITA agree with that. Especially given the passage of time and the likelihood that the case will be largely, if not exclusively, circumstantial. I see a deal for sure, if and when she is ever charged.jmoo

 

[eyes4crime]

What good is she doing for her baby girl by not fighting for custody of her?

Pretty sure her defense attorney can tackle the custody battle, but once she is on death row and murdered by the government, not much he can do. moo

 

[Donjeta]

If she got charged and found innocent very soon it would be better for her struggle to get custody or visitation rights but supposing she doesn't get charged any time soon, how long will she wait until she attempts to see her baby again?

 

[OneLove]

If she got charged and found innocent very soon it would be better for her struggle to get custody or visitation rights but supposing she doesn't get charged any time soon, how long will she wait until she attempts to see her baby again?

And wouldn't the length of time she chose not to see her factor into a decision about custody/visitation? In some regions, the longer a parent chooses to not see a child, the less likely it is that they will regain custody, especially if the child is doing well where they are.

 

[OneLove]

What good is she doing for her baby girl by not fighting for custody of her?

How likely do you think it is that she already knows she will eventually be going down for a heinous crime and decided her baby girl is better off without the "trauma of the drama"? Might she actually be considering her child's best interests?

 

[krowdkat]

How likely do you think it is that she already knows she will eventually be going down for a heinous crime and decided her baby girl is better off without the "trauma of the drama"? Might she actually be considering her child's best interests?

IMO, not likely at all. The only person I have seen TH show concern for is Terri. Especially if all the reports are true and she sent J away, hired a hit on Kaine, disappeared Kyron. All of those people are closely related to baby K and she has a right to have her father and brothers in her life.

I have to believe the MFH plot is true. Why else wouldn't TH fight the RO?

 

[TxLady2]

If one is being accused of something they didn't do, that's a great reason to get a defense attorney. If one is the focus of LE/DA for a crime they know they didn't commit, that's a great reason to hire a defense attorney. Innocent or guilty, she finally showed some smarts and hired a defense attorney.

Right! I hope no one here ever gets accused of a crime, or even treated as a suspect in one, but if you do... get an attorney ASAP.
Families of victims get attorneys all the time... if only to protect their interests and to keep them from being harassed by LE, or just as a safeguard against any and all possibilities. There is nothing wrong with hiring a lawyer when you think you might need one. And if you wait until you're charged with something.... well, that's not fair to the attorney. They need to be in on things from early on. Not fair to hand it all to them after you're already behind bars. The sooner they can study the facts of the case, the better off you are.

 

[ami]

IMO, innocent people are certain that their innocence will come to light IF ONLY they had the chance to explain and try to prove it. If Terri is truly innocent and also has proof that she was in various places at various key times that day, and knows there cannot be a shred of evidence against her, and knows that a guilty criminal kidnapper is 'out there' and at some point LE will probably find evidence of that, and knows that some "strange chaperone man" was seen walking with Kyron and he'll most likely be sketched by the eye witness who saw him in Skyline school in the presence of Kyron after Terri was long gone --- then she is probably imagining right now that she can't be prosecuted because Houze will present the evidence that proves Terri's alibi and the truth will all come to light and everyone will see she's innocent.

I can't possibly see an innocent Terri thinking she'll probably be convicted and probably get the death penalty. Innocent people just don't think that way. They might be worried about the trial and think it's going to be very hard, but with all the evidence Terri has told people she has? Eye witnesses who saw some man with Kyron in the school after she left? She can't possibly think in those circumstances she'll be convicted as an innocent woman.

 

[Donjeta]

Would a press conference help generate tips about the stranger chaperone (if LE doesn't already know his identity)? She must be desperate for information about him if she thinks he is the one who took Kyron.