Agree.
And would love to have input by BritsKate...but I'm thinking if she does get the DP, she will say that she is accepting of it and that is what she wanted. Her way of defining HER CONTROL still to the END. Of course, she will say that she is sorry that her family and others are affected as she did before.
Careful what you wish for. :biggrin: Long post ahead...
Your guess is really as good as mine. For all my knowledge of psychopathy and malignant narcissism, I never could have predicted her not allocuting. That leaves me a little wary trying to predict how she'll receive either sentence.
I have to start by saying that no matter the sentence rendered, I absolutely believe Jodi is convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that she will not die in prison. I think she believes her appeal will ultimately be successful and her conviction overturned. I'm not blaming anyone for it but the way this whole trial was handled directly fed into Jodi's sense of entitlement - everything from media interviews to being allowed such secrecy. Her not even attempting to allocute is a scary sign for me that her narcissism has reached never before seen territory.
I don't believe Jodi really wants death - I think that was just her spin at the time to make herself appear innocent, mentally ill, and having a low self-esteem. She'll hate the tighter restrictions and control but in a way, sentencing her to death will give her a platform for her victimhood. She'll use it to manipulate others and she'll have access to people she normally wouldn't to fight her cause - not because they think she's deserving but simply because of an anti-DP stance - though she won't see that's the reason they're fighting for her. It will further feed her narcissism. She isn't going to roll over and accept death, I don't think. To do that, she would have to admit she isn't as special as she believes she is. I believe she'll fight tooth and nail to save her life but she will probably use her family as the reason for it. Jodi likes being a martyr. She likes people believing she had no choice but to kill Travis. She'll revel in people thinking it's wrong to put her to death for her actions. In her mind, it bolsters her delusion that she was justified. Jodi doesn't like appearing selfish or self-serving (irony of all ironies) so I don't think she'll be honest that SHE wants to save HER life. KWIM? She may spin it as if it were up to her she may accept her fate - but she has a little sister to consider. Or what will the inmates do if she can't teach them Spanish?
One of the key reasons I don't believe she'll accept death is her threats to commit suicide. It's one of the cornerstones of a borderline diagnosis (and I believe a big part of DeMarte's thought process) but I have a history with such threats being used as a weapon so I see it from that angle. Where's the history of Jodi being hospitalized? Did she ever cut her wrists deeply enough to warrant medical attention? Did she ever OD and have to have her stomach pumped? Were police called when she scaled the top of a bridge? Scars evident from self-harming? Self-harm 'kit' at the ready? Wearing inappropriate clothing for summer just to hide her wounds (apart from when she murdered Travis)?
Instead we have her telling many people (and her journal) that she wanted to commit suicide but never actually making real moves to do so or stopping after a nick from a razor hurt. Most self-harmers will tell you the physical pain is welcome because it alleviates a deeper emotional pain. Of course, not all borderlines self-harm and not all self-harmers are borderline. Because of all of that history though, her appearing to want to die is pure emotional blackmail in my opinion. It's been used as a weapon against others to control how they respond and react to her.
