Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive -Sir Walter Scott, in his poem "Marmion" (1808)
Perhaps both defense and prosecution ought to have looked a little closer at the 'kandy-colored tangerine-flake stream-lined 'Expert Witnesses' called to testify in the trial of Mohamed Mohamud.
That said, while both blood and ink are still wet, a second glance at the jury selection proccess might be in order. This case requires a lot of 'vertical' as well as 'horizontal understanding. It demands of a jury the capacity to set emotions aside - but not off the table entirely - and look at the story from reason's perspective. Once the fundamental algorithms come into focus, empathy is called for...and plenty of it.
Trouble is that the one thing the American Left and Right have in common is a distrust bordering on contempt for the intellect.
- KBOO