Not much change so far, even with the order in which the same prosecution witnesses as the first trial are being called.
One exception is the insertion of one new witness as the third witness in this trial, Dr. Carolyn Higdon (PhD). After questioning from both sides, she was accepted as an expert in Speech Language Pathology. To summarize her testimony, after viewing the first trial testimony of experts from the Memphis burn center as to Jessica's condition along with photographs from the autopsy, her expert opinion was that it would have been impossible for Jessica to make "articulate sounds" and that she would have been in that condition within 2-3 minutes of receiving her severe burn injuries to her mouth, tongue, soft palate, larynx, and vocal chords, as well as the burns to her chest restricting her breathing.
Unfortunately, a number of subsequent first responders who testified today contradicted that expert opinion, not only repeating that they heard her utter "Eric" or "Derick" in response to who did this to you, but also uttering understandable phrases like "help me, help me" and "I'm thirsty" and "I'm cold."
SO... bottom line for me anyway, although in a clinical or theoretical sense Jessica's injuries should have prevented any normal person from being able to speak intelligibly, that tough and spunky little ex-cheerleader who knew how to "gut it out" apparently went ahead and did it anyway. Adrenaline rush, after-effects of marijuana, a determined spirit, or a combination of the three -- who can say. But enough others have already said -SHE- said, and that IMHO means the prosecution has failed to deprive Darla of the defense that worked so well for her last time. Already the seeds of doubt are planted.
Worried,
Clouseau