I see lots of opinions about this needing to be a DP case because of things like the amount of blood and the fact she stabbed and shot T.A. That's not what makes a case a *successful* death penalty case (successful meaning the jury votes for death). It's the totality of everything, including any prior felonies by the defendant and the number and age of victims and what other crimes were committed during the primary crime.
Just because one scene is super gory and another scene isn't, doesn't mean the case should be a DP case.
Here you have a spurned lover of the victim--a woman who desperately wanted to be in this guy's life on a permanent basis. She's obviously obsessed with him. He leads her on to some extent, sometimes more, sometimes less. He was cruel to her--that is clear in some of their communciations and I'm sure that escalated matters between them along the way.
She refused to take the hint or a 2x4 of rudeness slammed on her. While she premeditated the murder, her planning was erratic, and her actions afterwards were ridiculous.
But back to the point: you have a case in which there was an emotional connection between murderer and victim, an ongoing relationship of sorts, a spurned lover who is acting out of jealousy, abandonment, rage, they are 2 adults in an otherwise consenting (if highly dysfunctional) relationship. The victim did not deserve to be murdered (and this was not self-defense). But neither is *this* crime what most consider "the worst of the worst."
If someone told you the generics/generality about a case in which a lover kills the other lover in a rage killing, after being rejected repeatedly but not taking their dignity and walking away for good, do you immediately think to yourself, "oh yes, that's a DP case if I ever heard one?" I highly doubt it. You'd probably think, "oh here we go again. Another person who just couldn't let go..." Now how many intimate partner or spousal murder cases have we seen in the last decade. Hundreds, probably. How many of those cases have been DP cases? One or two. There's a reason for that. You don't give the DP to every first degree murderer. Life without parole, yes! DP for every single case, no.
BTW, remember hearing about and remember the reaction to the Petit family murders? Or little Samantha Runnion's kidnapping, rape and murder? Verrrrry different than vengeful intimate partner rage killing. Those cases are perfect examples of ones that rise to being obviously DP cases. This one, (TA murder), not so much IMO. And it's not because the family is more sad in one case or there's more blood or less blood in a case, or it's a woman in one case or a man in another case, it's the circumstances and prior actions and a whole host of factors that have nothing to do with how much blood one scene has versus a different scene or that one killer is nicer or more cunning. Totality. What prior felonies are in play? How many victims? Age of the victim(s)? All these factors come into play.
