Monday, November 5, 2012

Angel of Death Row (repost from May 2010)


May 24, 2010

Will Andrea Lyon quit the Casey Anthony team in order to keep her undefeated record against the death penalty?

Our words reveal us.

"Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh". (Christ)

I have long admired those in the art community who are able to "profile" an artist's personality by viewing a painting. In a sense, everything is autobiographical. What we do to express ourselves, exposes ourselves. In Statement Analysis, it is something that becomes evident as we look at the words chosen to describe a particular event or person.

For instance, if I say the word "boy" to a room of 25 investigators, and ask each to tell me what they are picturing in their minds, they offer:

a blue sticker on a baby's bassinet at the hospital
a 10 year old boy playing Little League baseball
a son, in Iraq, perhaps in harm's way
a grandson
a boy sitting at a table doing homework

These are just a few of the responses I have heard in trainings. The word "boy" conjured up various images. This is an example of the "personal internal dictionary" that we all have.

When conducting an interview, the Interviewer must enter into the subject's personal dictionary. This is why it is vital for the Interviewer to NOT introduce new words, but wait for the subject to introduce new words and new topics. The words the subject chooses reveal much about what is going on inside his or her mind. It is not only for interviews, but this is practices by skilled therapists as well.

Andrea Lyon, author of "Angel of Death Row" prides herself as a champion for those on death row. She is said to have a winning record, without a single loss. It appeared to be an impressive statistic.

Recently, while listening to blogger radio, an attorney said that there was a reason why Andrea Lyon had such an impressive "undefeated" record, which, the attorney claimed, was misleading.

He said that in her state, rather than having a jury vote by majority to have the death penalty imposed, it takes only ONE VOTE by ONE JUROR to have it discarded. This means in the jury pool, it only takes one anti-death penalty person to gain Ms. Lyon's "victory" and keep her "perfect record".

This changes things quite a bit.

Question: Will Andrea Lyon stay on the Casey Anthony case and risk her "undefeated" record, especially in light of the overwhelming evidence of premeditation and the inclusion of more than a single Aggravating Factor?

Will Andra Lyon quit the team if no plea is struck?

I don't sense a willingness on the part of the Prosecution to offer a plea.

Will Andrea Lyon quit to save her own record?

I don't know the answer; and perhaps, Ms. Lyon herself does not know the answer.

However, we do have a clue.

It may depend upon how Andrea Lyon feels, personally, about Casey Anthony.

Andrea Lyon is not only an attorney, but she is a human being, with emotions, passion, drive, empathy, and has in the past, had some strong bonds with the people who faced the death penalty, and fought passionately to get that one juror to deny the ultimate penalty.

It may come down to how Andrea Lyon feels about Casey Anthony. We already know she is personally against the death penalty, so that is not in question.

Lyon is facing a seemingly impossible task to have Casey Anthony avoid death. She is facing a Prosecutorial team that was insulted by Jose Baez from the beginning, (including before Ms. Lyon came on board). An attorney of her experience knows better than to ridicule the prosecution before the case develops. Jose Baez, from day one, ridiculed law enforcement, locally and federally, as well as the prosecution team. Though prosecution did not do any media appearances, Jose Baez was incessantly before the cameras, that is, at least until Ms. Lyon joined the team. Since then, his exposure has decreased significantly.

How does Ms. Lyon feel, personally, about Casey Anthony? How does she feel about facing a death penalty case where the jury will hear that a mother reported her child missing 31 days prior, yet went out partying, rather than "searching" for the missing child? Her personal attachment to Casey Anthony may impact her drive. If her attachment is emotionally powerful, we can expect it to impact Lyon's efforts. If her attachment is a nervous or weak attachment, we can expect that to be a force of "draining" on Lyon's stanima.

Andrea Lyon sought to argue, therefore, to the court that there may be a prejudicial opinion formed by those who view the pictures of Casey out partying, while Caylee was unaccounted for. She clearly wanted to tell the court that those who saw the partying pictures would believe Casey to be an unfit, immoral mother, and wanted the pictures to be kept from the jury. Andrea Lyon wanted to argue that potential jurors would view Casey as immoral.

Andrea Lyon did not say that, however. We must listen to what she said and not interpret.

Words chosen reveal us. The words that Andrea Lyon chose, reveal how she thinks and how she feels.

"People don't say, you know, ‘She's a,' it's an impolite word, but, you know, ‘She's a whore, so she should die.' Right? They don't say that out loud. Oh, well, they do in the blogs, your honor," Casey's death penalty-qualified attorney, Andrea Lyon, argued in court Tuesday morning. "But they don't say that here in court ... but underneath, that is what's going on."

"People don't say" is passive. Lyon does not say "I don't say" which would show ownership. She is speaking of people in general and begins in the negative, and the fragmented sentence shows tension. We would expect a polished experienced attorney to speak fluidly, so when we encounter fragmented words, or stuttering from someone who does not normally stutter or speak in fragmentation, we flag it as "sensitive". She is not telling us what people say, but rather what they do not say. This negative form is significant.

Lyon does not complete her thought and is clearly uncomfortable with what she is about to say.

"you know". Some people use this word frequently and habitually. When it comes from someone who does not use it habitually, it shows an attempt to persuade. "You know" means that she seeks the hearer to agree with her, even before she makes her point. I have not found this to be in Lyon's speech as habit.

She's a,

Andrea Lyon struggled to say the word. As said before, she could have said that the pictures are prejudicial because 'people may form an opinion that my client is immoral', which would have been a short and clear statement, without much sensitivity attached. For Andrea Lyon, this is a struggle for one who does not struggle with speech in a court room.

"it's an impolite word"

Notice the grammar is correct as Lyon is an accomplished speaker, making her struggle even more pronounced for us. She has now communicated to us that people who view the photos will view Casey Anthony in a negative way and by saying it is an "impolite word", we all know the meaning. This is soft language. But for Lyon, her personal dictionary is not finished, even though she has already made her point. This is where she is unable to keep herself OUT of her statement, and this is, I believe, the revelation of how she personally feels about Casey Anthony, and she is still attempting to persuade with her 2nd use of "but, you know".

How does Andrea Lyon view Casey Anthony?

"She's a whore"

Andrea Lyon said these words.

"She's a whore"

No matter how it may be attempted to explain away as representing the opinion of others, studies have shown that when someone speaks a statement forming words together, it is because this is what they are thinking, personally.

Some examples:

When we look for guilt or innocence, we look to see if a suspect frames words of guilt in their own sentences and statistically, if they do, they likely are guilty.

"because people think that I did it..." When a suspect is able to say "I did it" within a sentence, even when attributing these words to others, statistically, they have guilt.

"for those of you who believe in my guilt..." Pronouns show ownership. Innocent people do not say "my" guilt.

OJ Simpson wrote in his book, asking people to keep an open mind. "my guilt" shows the pronoun ownership of guilt, wording innocent people do not employ.

We look for any formation of "I did it" in the sentences of the accused and find that innocent people do not generally, in open statements (unprompted by specific questions) use these words. If so, it is a red flag and means more work is needed in the investigation.

"Tell us plainly if you are the Son of God!" the middle of the night court demanded of Christ.

"Thou sayest it", was His answer.

But, it can be argued, they didn't say it, they asked Him.

Christ pointed out that their words framed truth. They had seen Him suspend the laws of nature, including miracles of healing before their eyes, and had watched their political power go down the drain. Now they looked to accuse Him of blasphmey in order to end His popularity, which threatened to displace their position and power in the ancient world, under Roman rule.

This is the same as in Statement Analysis we look for the words "I didn't do it" in open statements; unprompted by any questioning. Richard Jewel, accused Atlanta Olympic bomber, before the press, was able to speak these words easily.

However, when they come in a line of questioning where the words are repeated back, they do NOT hold the same strength but still need further questioning.

"Did you do it?"
"No, I didn't" is a repetition of the Interviewer's own words. It is prompted by a question.

Joe Overstreet offered "I didn't do it" in his lawyer's office before the camera. What we don't know is if this was part of an open statement or if it was in response to a question from Media. We didn't see or hear what proceeded the statement. If it was offered openly, statistically, Joe Overstreet did not cause the death of Haleigh Cummings.

Andrea Lyon is not answering the question, "Is Casey Anthony a whore?", rather, she is speaking openly, unprompted by a specific question. Who chose the word "whore"? Andrea Lyon chose the word "whore". It is safe to say that Andrea Lyon was not asked by the court, "Are you implying that Casey Anthony is a whore?"

"She's a whore" are the words framed by the lips of Andrea Lyon. These are the words she chose, for herself, and did not come from a question. Andrea Lyon chose these words, even when she could have stopped at "impolite" with her meaning already presented.

She did not. She, who does not stutter nor speak in fragmented sentences, stumbled, but continued on.

Andrea Lyon is revealing to us that she is personally disgusted by Casey Anthony's ability to go out and party in a sexually charged atmosphere while Caylee was dead. Even if Lyon believes that Caylee died by accident and has been told that the duct tape were part of a panicked cover up, it still bothers Lyon that Casey Anthony was able to go out and party after Caylee was dead (or missing, depending upon what Lyon believes).

Andrea Lyon used these words in correlation to Casey Anthony:

"She's a whore"

But it didn't end there.

"She's a whore, so she should die.'"

Andrea Lyon is representing what she thinks people are saying about her client, yet the words she chooses reveal her own thoughts. There are an endless number of ways to say that people may believe Casey Anthony's behavior in the photos to be immoral.

My question to Andrea Lyon is this:

Do you believe Casey should die?

I don't expect the "Angel of Death Row" to answer this question in the affirmative.

I do believe that her choice of words reveal that this case, the case of Casey Anthony versus the People of Florida has so shaken Andrea Lyon to the core of her foundation, that she herself is questioning her staunch and long held opposition to the death penalty.

Andrea Lyon may believe, personally, that this case was so horrific, cold, and calloused, that in viewing the facts, the duct tape, the heart sticker, the computer searches, the hatred of her own mother, the partying, the jumping from bed to bed while neglecting Caylee, the relationship she had with Baez, and all the facts that she alone may know, that she cannot help but have an internal struggle where she says to herself,

'I have fought for 20 years against the death penalty yet I find myself defending someone who deserves it more than anyone I've ever met before and it is causing me such self doubt as I don't know what I believe!'.

I think that Casey Anthony has deeply touched off, perhaps, maternal protective instincts deep within Andrea Lyon's affections.


"Right?"

This shows how insecure she is. She stutters and speaks in fragmented sentences; she the attorney who does not stutter or halt under pressure. Now she seeks affirmation? This is the "angel" of death row? This is the powerful death penalty foe, stammering and asking if she is correct?

She asked the question, "right?". Andrea Lyon asked this question, but to whom was it directed? The judge is not going to answer her; nor will prosecution. If rhetorical, what is the need for it?

Casey Anthony has deeply touched Andrea Lyon and has caused Lyon to question herself.


"They don't say that out loud. "

Ms. Lyon does not even believe her own statement.

"They" is "people"; undefined. Ms. Lyon is so affected by her thoughts about Casey snuffing out the life of such a cute and adorable 2 1/2 year old child, that she contradicts herself. If you listen to Ms. Lyon in the courtroom, you have likely not heard her speak in fragmented sentences, nor contradict herself in the same statement. She is a highly intelligent professional. Nothing in this statement appears intellectual or professional: it is shear emotion coming from a place that Andrea Lyon does not normally touch into while in court.


"Oh, well, they do in the blogs, your honor,"

This refers back again to "blogs" as we have seen repeatedly by Jose Baez and Brad Conway. "Blogs" are media outlets unimpeded by commercial interests. They represent the voice of the average American who wishes to opine, as well as the people who care enough to read them and comment upon them as well. They represent a new era in journalism in the world; where anyone can have an opinion and be heard.

The Casey Anthony defense team refers to blogs often. Brad Conway even said "blogs and threats" in the same sentence, with his own words revealing how threatened the defense feel.

Our words reveal what is in our hearts. Our hearts are the seat of intellect and emotions. Our brains receive training, very early in life, on forming words. Even a 3 or 4 year old can recognize verb tenses and pronouns. "MY cookie!" shows how a child can take ownership by using a pronoun.

Andrea Lyon formed words that came from her heart; her intellect and her affections. As a professional, she left the safety of professional legalese and stumbled out emotionally into revealing her personal opinion of Casey Anthony, and perhaps, a personal crisis of her life's work, as she dedicated her life to opposing capital punishment.

She worked hard at making sure that if a man kills some one's family member, that family would have to, via tax dollars, pay for the killer's room, board, food, education, medical, dental, and life's expenses, even though their family member, now deceased, have been denied those very things, thus revictimizing the family in the name of "justice".

This work is something that has brought Andrea Lyon both fortune and fame.

Like any of us, Andrea Lyon chose words that held meaning to her. This decision was made in less than a micro second, no different than ours.

Will Andrea Lyon stay on the defense team if it becomes apparent that no plea will be offered, and that her client will face death, ultimately ruining her "perfect record"?


Don't bet on it.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Oh, well, they do in the blogs, your honor,"

I’ve got an idea: Amanda Bortner and the other mothers complicit in child murder/abuse should start a blog,(perhaps naming it I slept with the Devil) they could chat about how their kids dad is like Damien from the Omen. And chide each other,”C’mon, I know his hands went around your throat a lot.”Remember some of the weird stuff about him; I know you caught him watching you from dark shadows. What did your psycho call himself? A bi-polar retard? Suspicious stranger? Mine said “Random sex is like pure evilness”, and ”Lying is a sin, cheating is a sin,” then I figured out he’s a sinner! And the haunting phrase “ I think of all the people who’ll never have a normal relationship because we didn’t work out.” There were clues to end the relationship, maybe they’ll share the many “flight” break-ups he described them as “easy, cheesy, japanesey”. Has another person ever been the only one to make sense? Did he call you his “rock”, unfortunately I was described as the earth, when I complained that he didn’t give me any human characteristics, he said that I was the earth and that the earth wasn’t supposed to get up and run away. How about his scary friends? There was a guy who gave me a ride in a late model red convertible, he told me about killing a raccoon, he said he tore it’s jaw off. I thought it was a Jaugar, my son said it was a Corvette.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm
Dunno about the blogging idea…Anon, you use (I) too many times to be reliable I count four, no five I's. You're flagged for deception.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Angela Corey a/k/a "The Angel of Death Row" doesn't want anyone's blood on her hands; that is to say, she wants to keep her conscience clean as to being blamed for having a part in ordering the death of another human being; who, heaven forbid, might have been innocent or just plain crazy, yet she knows they too have a soul. Maybe she can't bring herself to play Almighty God, or be the one who determines who lives and who dies.

While she strikes me as being a big crude hard-living hussy whose had many a night of fun with the boys around the courthouse, (if you know what I mean) maybe underneath it all she takes the matter of life and death very seriously. Maybe she's thought of herself as being a slut or whore a time or two and it bothers her, knowing that she too had quite a few rolls in the hay in her day.

However, it's one thing to tell someone to 'go to hell' but it's another thing to actually mean it or be the one to pass that final judgment and be responsible for pulling the switch that sends them there. Personally, I couldn't do it.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 3:40, that seems a wierd idea; these mothers having a blog site who participated in allowing their significant others to abuse and kill their babies, sometimes participating in inflicing the final blows. It's irrelevant that some of them might have been abused themselves. I don't think I could read their blogs. It makes me want to gag just thinking about it.

I don't find any excuse good enough for staying with a man who abuses you. Love certainly can't be one of them. How could anyone "love" someone who beats them or their child? That's not love, it's terror, coupled with 'bow-the-knee' gratefulness that you weren't killed yourself, plus a sex need desperation, as if they think he has the only one.

It's not that I don't have sympathy for them as I certainly do, having witnessed the abuse of one of my own sisters, and I know how horrible it is. But these women run the risk of being violently murdered or having their children brutally killed and frequently do; yet they CHOSE to stay. It's really a disgusting, dangerous and sick sick situation, and even more so for the kids involved.

No matter how it ends, it never comes to a good end, so who needs to be depressed by even reading about it? Then there's those who lie about being abused when they never were, or those who created their own part in the abuse. Believe it or not, there are women who actually like to be slapped around, are the aggressors, and aggitate it themselves.

Anonymous said...

Peter, you are correct. Jesus did answer and say "thou sayest", and rightly so, but he never denied who he was. He knew they knew who he was.

All jews and those sentencing him to death knew (and everyone else knows) who Jesus is and was, whether he came in the manner they expected him too or not. His manner of birth (and death on the cross) was given in the old testament scriptures and jewish law prior to his birth which these same learned men had poured over for centuries.

They know today too. And if they don't, IMO they'd best be finding out real quick.

Anonymous said...

Ha... off to vote today. Not that my one little vote matters as it doesn't, but at least it will cancel out one other one whose not thinking too clearly. Sorr-REEEE!

Anonymous said...

Anon @4:32 a.m., I counted ten (10!) "I"s in the post at 3:40 a.m. TEN my dear. And that's not taking note of all the "me"s.

Anonymous said...

I want to know the truth.

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