5/5 Stars
I remember having followed the proceedings carefully when they were airing and thinking how brilliant and clever Martinez was. I really enjoyed this and was happy to have some insight into his strategy and mindset. I loved seeing his tenacity in the courtroom and how hard he worked to not let Arias get too comfortable. And I did take some pleasure in seeing her uncomfortable when he put pressure on her.
Definitely worth a read, it was an easy read.
The only angle/argument Martinez took that I thought was rather weak was when he was grilling LaViolette about how she claimed communication was 90% non-verbal… but that’s obviously irrelevant if you’re looking at patterns in text communications. Sure, something may be lost there, but I think he shouldn’t have belabored that point, as text communications were all she had as Arias had killed Travis (no way to get his side). However, how he saved the unveiling of his knowledge of her purchasing (and not returning) the 3rd gas can for the latter part of Arias being on the stand, was absolutely brilliant. No time for her to prepare and she didn’t see it coming.
I also found it interesting that 11/12 people voted for the death penalty (second time) and I believe it later came out that the one opposed, was opposed on principle and shouldn’t have been a part of the jury from the beginning! Because of that fact. Ugh. How infuriating. At any rate, both the defense and prosecution had their work cut out for them with Arias… so interesting to see how everything unfolded.
Eternal Ocean of Words 