>>East Texas juries, in contrast, are less predictable in these things.<<
What makes you say this?
I'd be surprised to find anyone in East Texas that hasn't heard of the matter. And I don't think they'll go soft on this .. it's just too personal .. happening here .. a young girl .. too many reasons for a jury to want maximum
There is a quote from Thornton Wilder's great classic The Bridge Over San Luis Rey that reads:
"'Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan"
Her untimely death is a mystery to me, even more so is why God allows murderers in a moment--to kill the innocent
I've just been involved in a number of jury trials in East Texas. (Own a small oil company and do a fair bit of drilling in East Texas.)
You are -slightly- more likely to find defendant-sympathetic whites and nonwhites in an East Texas jury pool than a West Texas jury pool.
All the people that know/heard of/etc this lady will be kicked off the jury.
Martin County --- Stanton being the county seat --- are mean square-headed Germans. (The townspeople's nickname are "Soreheads.")
A Martin county jury is unsympathetic, the judge is so damn mean he made a father-who-figured-out-the-kids-weren't his pay child support anyway. (Seriously)
They'd give the death penalty in about 2 seconds. They'd even go to Wal-Mart and buy the rope.
Oh, and don't get me wrong, I think he'll fry in East Texas, too.
It's just a sure thing in Martin County.