ToukieSmith

I read the book Shattered about the Belinda and Erin Temple murder and I believe David killed his wife. The day Belinda was murdered, David was supposed to be home taking care of Evan because he was sick. Evan's school called Belinda at work; Belinda picked him up and brought him home. She left instructions for his care on the counter, then returned to work; David was supposed to be at home taking care of him. Its funny that the neighbor's kid decided to kill Belinda at a time that David should have been at home. Its also coincidental that Mr. Temple Sr. bought all of his sons 12 gauge shotguns according to the testimony of a witness at trial that hunted with the Temple family, but Mr. Temple Sr. said he bought David a 20 gauge shotgun (he confirmed that he bought David's brothers 12 gauge shotguns however). Its really interesting that every neighbor on the Temple's street said that their dog was vicious. Additionally, the police could not get past the vicious dog when they arrived at the scene to investigate what they initial thought was a break in at the Temple's house. They were going to shoot the dog to gain access to the house when David came out and grabbed the dog so the police could go into the house. How did the neighbor's son get past the dog? When the crime scene investigator reviewed the body, they were confused because they could not find the blood splatter. After awhile, someone moved the clothes on the rod across from the body and the blood spatter from the gun shot was found. So the next door neighbor's kid took the time to hide the blood spatter behind the clothes because........ Nothing was stolen from the house. In addition to the TV, there was jewelry in the crime scene photos laying on a dresser. The case was brought to trial due to pressure from Belinda's family. If you believe the police, they said that neither David nor any other member of the Temple family ever inquired about leads on his wife's death. At trial, they tested the defense theory that the glass shards were scattered because David swung the door open and the door hit a hutch that was behind the door. The markings on the door did not line up with the hutch. Thus, the door swinging onto the hutch did not cause the shards to fall on the carpet as was seen in the crime scene photos. DeGuerin cross examined Riley Joe Sanders at the original trial. He presented to the jury that he thought Riley Joe Sanders killed Belinda Temple because she told his parents that he was truant. The jury knew that Riley Joe Sanders had access to a 12 gauge shot gun. I agree with Kelly on this one. There is no new information here. Many local attorney's do not agree with Judge Gist according to what I have read. We will see what the Court of Appeals has to say. My aunt is a local defense attorney and she does not like Siegler. I don't know anything about Siegler to like her or hate her. After reading the book on this case, I think David is where he is supposed to be.

This rang true to me. Mrs. Sullivan, faced with her child getting into life altering trouble, decided to take control of the situation. Her first tactic was to be nice to Anne to see how much mileage she could get by being nice. Once she realized that Anne's wall was not coming down, she went into bitch mode. Mrs. Sullivan is a nice woman. She sees how other people are manipulating a situation and she advised her husband correctly. At the same time, once scandal came to her door step, she became the person that she cautioned her husband about.

I agree. As I watch this show, I have thought about how terrible these people have acted, but then again, I don't think I would do anything different than they did to be honest. I would like to think that I would do right by people, but I don't think I have met the circumstance that has truly tested me yet.

I think the "American Crime" may be that our ideals and actions don't agree. We talk about honor and integrity, but as soon as something happens, so-called decent people start lying and covering for them and theirs. The politicians are everywhere and they are running stuff they have no business running, but we put them in their positions because they dazzled us with their 30 second elevator speech and we failed to demand more than that. I appreciate that Terri and Kevin have a sense of decency about them. Their conscience led them to do the right thing. In contrast, I wonder if the Coach's daughter did not want to go to school because her conscience was bothering her and her parents are the ones impairing her sense of right and wrong.

I think Leslie does get it. She still has her job and the other Principal does not. Always protect your agenda. Always understand that others have their own agenda. You aren't alone. Her tactics are suspect, but she did what they hired her to do and they were too weak to back her up when the fecal matter hit the cooling device. I appreciate how coldly she turned the tables on their asses and fired them all. In contrast, the other principal got his ass handed to him because he never thought those so-called nice folks that he accommodated (the 2 women he talked to about school problems) would not back him up when he needed them to do so. The lesson is that no one will ever have your back so you should have your own back. I think I like Leslie because I know what I am getting with people like her. Its obvious that she is always going to protect herself and her agenda whereas the others are not as transparent. They hide behind a facade of appearing to be nice people when they are just as selfish as Leslie. Sebastian is a wild card and his loyalty is to his need to avenge so-called wrongs. Its interesting to note that Sebastian gave Leslie new life. Before the hack, Leslie was exiting the scene. The hack, IMO, gave her an opportunity to refocus strategically to 1) show her value and 2) refocus her power structure. My guess is that she went to key alums with the information about the hack and got their support on how to deal with it. Once she solidified her power base, she presented the plan of reformatting the board to the Chair.

Exposing Leyland's secrets on the internet is a scorched earth strategy. Taylor will still go to jail and everyone else will be disgraced. Instead of mutually assured destruction, blackmail may be a better strategy. Leslie is a bitch, but she does have skill and financial connections. How hard would she work FOR Anne to prevent a sordid secret from coming out?

I understand her surprise because she did what they wanted her to do. Yet, she doesn't see that they are doing the same thing that she did to Taylor. I was furious with the Coach and his hypocritical ass. He had the audacity to lecture Leslie when he could have stepped up and investigated the rape allegations his damn self. He could have laid down the law with his own players and outed his own bad actors. He cares about winning and the prestige of being the coach. It was sickening to watch the stars in his eyes, wielding clout that allowed him to have a say in Leslie's termination. He wanted her gone so he could step into the inner circle, not because she mishandled the Taylor situation. When his daughter admitted that she sold drugs to Taylor, he immediately went into protect mode to save her ass instead of taking her to the police department to make a statement. If I were Taylor's mother, I would be very suspicious of the guy with the little girls. She needs the dirt for the court case, not to flame the school.

My parents kept close tabs on me as well. I remember many arguments with my Dad about going out and he was adamant that I was going to stay at home. My mother would never allow a party in her house with a bunch kids unchaperoned. She would not allow kids to get drunk or have sex in her house either. If I had thrown this type of party (or any type of party) at my parent's house without them knowing, my ass would have been grass.

This sounds all kinds of wrong. Joe and college should never be uttered in the same sentence.

It was the performance of Madoff's fund that hooked everyone. All he had to do was market his hedge fund to managers that were not skilled enough to question/challenge Madoff's investment approach*. I am sure he appeared knowledgeable to them and he put on his very best performance with them. They were probably friends/associates he knew from school, the neighborhood. Once he got these folks hooked, then the news spread about his returns. Everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. *Some executives are not necessarily subject matter experts. They are people that are good at politicking. Thus, as shown in the miniseries, they have no idea what the screens are showing because they don't work at that level of detail/specificity. They don't know the right questions to ask and they won't ask questions because they don't want to look like they don't know.

Yep. Have you ever watched American Greed? People are constantly falling for ponzi schemes.

Yeah, Kenya looked like an idiot. She should have had words with Cynthia, not Kim. Cynthia knew that Kenya and Kim have issues and she tried pushing both women to work together when she should have left it alone. Then, she did not tell Kenya that she had already chosen Kim to produce/direct the commercial. Nene was right; Cynthia is a terrible friend. I did appreciate that Kenya got under the church lady's skin. Kim's rant to her husband about the fight was awesome. I like Matt.

This did not make sense to me either. Taj's time with Jennifer was over so all she had to do was follow the plan for 7 weeks. Taj sabotages herself and she needs to explore why.

Taj has serious emotional problems. I hope she gets help. I really liked this show. The weight loss was realistic and the I liked the contestants.

Me too. I like Kenya's boyfriend. He is good-looking and easy going. I hope he is a good guy.

I found this interesting as well, especially with a woman who would not fit her own stereotype... Regina is killing this role.

I agree. I don't like the politicization of the situation because it leads to black and white positions when we know its more nuanced. Unfortunately, you don't get a soundbite if your comments are nuanced. This show has no business going anywhere near BLM, million man march, or any other real issue affecting any community. In this episode, the esteemed Phaedra Parks referred to Porsha's outfit as THOT wear. Any woman that would refer to another woman's outfit as THOT wear should really have nothing to do with any movement that seeks to uplift anything or anyone. I don't believe that all or the majority of white people hate black people and I don't believe that black people should fear law enforcement generally. I have been a victim of racism; I believe that racism exists. On the other hand, I greet law enforcement officers everyday where I work so I have a different perspective. Sebastian and Ayden heard that white people don't like them.

I think Kim's actions were right. That visit was akin to taking children to a busy office. Plus, I did not like the tone of that conversation myself. I don't believe that white people hate black people and I don't think black people need to fear law enforcement. Phaedra reported to Apollo that Ayden had acted up in school; Apollo addressed it in his conversation with Ayden. I think it was nice to hear that Ayden and Apollo talk. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for Ayden to be without his father. Phaedra has legitimate reasons not to take the boys to see their father, but I think she should take them to visit him.

I did not see an issue between Porsha and Lauren. That is sister stuff. I took none of it seriously. My sister and I fight all of the time. Water is wet. Kenya is right to pursue whatever it is that she is trying to get from her mother. Patricia was very young when she made her decision about giving Kenya away. I think it was the right decision; however, I think she owes her child some words. She may not be equipped to provide those words, but they are due to Kenya all the same. I think she should woman up to do the work she needs to do so that she can ease her child's mind somewhat. I think its chicken shit for her to bury her head in the sand. There are no villains here, but Kenya is the primary victim, not Patricia. She has more access to resources that can help her family's situation than most; I have higher expectations of her. Amen. My parents and I have our issues, but their combined wisdom and hard work have been to my benefit. On New Year's Eve, my Dad mentioned that he may be dead in five years during a conversation he was having with my Aunt and I have not been right since. Friends of my parents have been passing away as of late so its been on my mind that they are of that age that something could happen to them, but for my Dad to say it out loud really has messed with me. I guess we will learn whats up with Nene next week. Oh joy, cant' wait....not. I did not see an issue between Porsha and Lauren. That is sister stuff. I took none of it seriously. My sister and I fight all of the time. Water is wet. Kenya is right to pursue whatever it is that she is trying to get from her mother. Patricia was very young when she made her decision about giving Kenya away. I think it was the right decision; however, I think she owes her child some words. She may not be equipped to provide those words, but they are due to Kenya all the same. I think she should woman up to do the work she needs to do so that she can ease her child's mind somewhat. I think its chicken shit for her to bury her head in the sand. There are no villains here, but Kenya is the primary victim, not Patricia. She has more access to resources that can help her family's situation than most; I have higher expectations of her. Amen. My parents and I have our issues, but their combined wisdom and hard work have been to my benefit. On New Year's Eve, my Dad mentioned that he may be dead in five years during a conversation he was having with my Aunt and I have not been right since. Friends of my parents have been passing away as of late so its been on my mind that they are of that age that something could happen to them, but for my Dad to say it out loud really has messed with me. I guess we will learn whats up with Nene next week. Oh joy, cant' wait....not.

I don't think Harlee's daughter is Ray's. Actually, I was wondering why Harlee is concerned about who will take care of her daughter when a) Ray's character would do it for her especially if he knows about the blackmail and b) the daughter is almost grown. I don't think he is legit. Just like Ray's character is playing for local drug dealer, this so-called FBI agent can be playing for a different dealer. I don't trust him, especially after he broke into Harlee's home. That was not necessary to his cause if he were legit. Also, doesn't the justice department need to be involved for immunity deals? If I were Harlee, I would need to see an agreement and have my lawyer bless it first. At the very least, she should have said yes to give herself enough time to get herself the best deal possible. I would trust the criminal that I know versus the criminal that I don't know if it were me.

Phaedra does not seem to be the type of woman not to know how her husband is making money. Either she knew exactly what Apollo was doing or she chose not to know what Apollo was doing because she knew he was doing something illegal. Kandi has been pretty chill up to this point about how Phaedra felt about Apollo. Its interesting that Kandi said that Phaedra wanted Apollo to go long before he went to prison which I think is true. Apollo was not shy about showing his lack of respect for Phaedra and she dropped her veil a few times over the 2 season before his incarceration, revealing that she was not to pleased with him either. At any rate, Phaedra tried her hand at developing her Pygmalion and it did not work. Her ego is bruised because Apollo made her look like a fool in public, but she is okay. She has her money, her kids and her mother. All is well in her world. When Kandi learned that Todd had allowed Apollo to stash those bikes at their home, she should have asked Todd to have those bikes removed. I don't think the Tuckers were trying to take sides, but they put themselves in the middle of a domestic situation and they should have stayed on the sidelines. Phaedra needs to go ahead and write that check to Todd however. Porsha should have stayed out of the situation between Phaedra and Kandi. There is a way you can be friends with people without getting in the middle of their disputes. Being there for Phaedra and being friendly with Kandi or any of the other women is not mutually exclusive.

I agree. Kandi said that she did not believe Apollo and his lies so I never entertained the idea that she was taking his side over Phaedra's. Now, she did think that Phaedra should take her kids to see Apollo, but I think that was more about the kids than Apollo. Also, we don't know when Apollo left these items with the Tuckers and Baileys. He and Phaedra were on the outs so I don't see him leaving these items at Phaedra's when she told him to get his stuff and leave. Its a touchy situation for all involved. In the end, I think Phaedra will stay with Apollo so being neutral is the best play for everyone.

I agree with you. I should have added that her signals are crossed. She is signaling for a playmate, not a marriage partner....at least on TV anyway.

She seems like she is sending the message that she is free, single, and ready to mingle.

Those assets may belong to those folks that Apollo stole from. Todd should send all of that crap to Phaedra's house and let her deal with it. He should not have agreed to store it in the first place. He needs to collect his money in cash.