Yes, good point indeed. People are often quick to point out inconsistencies in the Rs behaviour and speech after JBs murder as proof of their guilt. Of course they did not act normal, their daughter was murdered, how many of us know for sure we would not have acted the same, appearing dazed, confused and otherwise weird, abnormal, not like a normal parent, etc., after such a tragedy? I dont suspect the Rs did/will ever act normal again, stress induced behaviour does not necessarily imply guilt.
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Edited to add:
It doesn't matter how long between when the trauma (stress) occurs and when interviews/questions about the event are asked, whether its one year or one hundred.
The point is that stress actually changes the way information about the traumatic event is encoded and subsequently accessed.
The stress experienced by P&JR did not necessarily end on within a few days, months or even years after JB's murder. Besides the fact that everyone heals in different ways/at different rates, they (J&PR) were reliving the event every moment of every day by way of incessant reports through the media, JBs picture (even the autopsy photos for goodness sake!) at every flip of the television channel and newspaper page, constant scrutiny, peering, finger pointing, and obtrusiveness by every Tom, Dick and Harry into their lives, and because of the mere nature of the crime.
Even if the media and general public had ignored what happened, their (J&Ps) minds played over and over questions about what they could have or should have done differently, the last moments they had with JB, how such a tragedy could happen, etc. This is known as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), what we use to commonly term shell shock with regard to survivors of war
even after many soldiers returned home, the slightest loud sound, dream (waking or sleeping), or the littlest reminder could put them right back onto the battle fields, experiencing all the emotions, fears and pain (emotional and physical) of their time in combat. Can you imagine that, the pain of being shot (or shooting another human being) over and over again, or, in the case at hand, the pain of your own child being murdered (whether it was at your own hands, someone you know or an intruder)? There are few emotions so deep and profound as the love for ones child, and to lose a child, especially through some utterly senseless and unnatural event as this
its like having your heart ripped out.
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About general memory retrieval for events occurring before a traumatic event, stress can and does affect the way some people access previous life events, details and occurrences as well. It is as though the entire brain is short circuited or re-mapped, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Some peoples ability to access memories is enhanced, at the other extreme are those who enter into a dissociative fugue state whereby they cannot even remember who they are, and then there are all those persons in between.
Even if you have never experienced great tragedy in your life, the stress of happy events can affect memory retrieval processes in the same way.
For those of you who are so bold to judge others behaviour as right or wrong, saying you would never do this or that if you were in another persons shoes, you are obviously most fortunate to never have experienced, e.g., the loss of a child, loved one, or friend through such hideous acts, or any other life tragedy
that or you must be superhuman, all seeing, all knowing, totally immune and invulnerable to life around you.
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As I have stated many times before, I am not implying the R's are innocent, I do not back any particular IDI, RDI, BDI, etc. theory. I do, however, have strong opinions about people being judged based upon mere conjecture alone, without any facts, evidence or proof to support such prejudice, or when claims of proof are asserted without the slightest bit of logic or rational thought.
How many times must we drag the R's through the mud and burn them at the stake, so to speak, before we realize this line of (mis) inquiry/action is not working and has not worked/solved this case in almost ten years. Its like watching a mouse run through a maze the same way over and over again, never trying alternative routes to the cheese... how many times must we bang our heads up against the wall before we realize we need to step back for a moment, put our egos and prejudices aside and look at this case from a fresh perspective?
As Cypros stated above, this case is not "hinged on misstatements." I am glad at least part of our justice system has worked in this case, i.e., convening of the Grand Jury, a group of our peers realized we do not yet know enough about this case, or we have not looked at/examined all the evidence correctly/extensively enough, in order to make a clear finding of guilt (or innocence) with regard to the R's.
