[Goodman26]

I do expect Mitchell to attempt an insanity defense.

I think an insanity defense would be risky. (Yes, clearly he is not normal mentally, but the key is whether he knew taking her was wrong.) I think all he has to do is claim she asked him to save her and take her away and she became obsessed with him, etc. Then, a sarcastic defense lawyer can ask whether anyone on the jury has had much success getting their teenage kids to do something they didn't want to do, for nine straight months. He can say, I can't even get my teenagers to brush their hair; how can this poor man have controlled this girl so completely? And then he can introduce medical and other evidence showing she was not in some detached psychotic state when she was "recovered."

[Illbay]

Don't you love it that a guy who snatches the girl in the dead of night, then guards her constantly, keeping her veiled, etc., has to have it "proven" that he knew what he was doing was wrong?

[Catspaw]

What we're seeing and what we're going to see is a deliberate trashing of the victim and the victim's family from now until the end of the trial by both Mitchell's defense attorney and Mitchell's supporters.