Showrunner Alexandra Cunningham discusses the courtroom drama DirtyJohn at the center of the season finale and why Betty became a 'folk hero' to some people
Isabella Vosmikova/USA NetworkShowrunner Alexandra Cunningham discusses the courtroom drama at the center of the season finale and why Betty became a "folk hero" to some people.The ending ofwas never in doubt: The real-life case ended as USA's true crime anthology depicts it, with Broderick sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for murdering her ex-husband, Dan and his second wife, Linda .
That really empowered her and made her very bold and unapologetic at a time when that was, in my opinion, not the way to go. She really felt people were understanding what she went through for the first time, and that made it really difficult for her defense attorney. At first, that made it difficult for the prosecution, but then I think they clued into what was going on and turned that against her.
I don't actually think they ever debated whether she would tell her story or not. If that had been a thing her defense attorney, Jack Early, didn't want to do, I never saw that anywhere. I definitely think he felt hearing from her directly was necessary for a lot of reasons. She is an articulate person. She's very well able to express her emotional state to a certain extent. In the first trial, it definitely worked to have her on the stand.
The thing that changed between the first and second trial, which we touch on a little bit, is for some reason, which I'm sure she was shocked at herself when it was over, the ADA did not ask Betty anything about what happened in the bedroom. She just abruptly changed the subject and asked about what happened afterward. … Betty herself was shocked, because she had been prepped by her defense attorney to expect it and was ready to give yet another version of it.
What about Betty's story do you think resonated with so many people who wrote to her and sent her things? Betty had a very macabre sense of humor. The thing she says to her lawyer about at least bail being set for Jeffrey Dahmer — all of that was directly lifted from a conversation Bella Stumbo recounted [in her book about the case,] where Betty said "Maybe I should have eaten Dan and Linda." If that's not an example of how, even in this situation, Betty would say anything for a laugh — her sense of proportion is completely broken.Yeah, trying to revenge herself on her friends.
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