My favorite feature of letters -- the written word in general really -- is the immortality factor. Cognizant thoughts can go on to inform and enlighten long after the person who wrote them has gone. In the book How to Write: Advice and Reflections (1996) author Richard Rhodes says, "Only temples and pyramids enjoy such permanence as writing enjoys." This can be wonderfully true and it can also be tragically true -- as it is in the case of Julie Jensen.
Mrs. Jensen died in December 1998, at the age of 40, via poison. She predicted her own end by writing a letter to a neighbor saying that if she were to die suddenly they should suspect her husband, Mark. It took four years, but in 2002 Mark Jensen was charged with her murder. The trial has been put on hold because it was argued that the letter was not sufficient evidence and shouldn't be allowed in the courtroom. Now, after a long battled that ended up with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, it has been decided that Julie will be allowed to testify at her trial -- through her written words.
Needless to say, I'm glad the written word is being held in high esteem as this trial begins. I find it fascinating that it's Mark's word against Julie's, but I do not think it necessarily means he killed her. Of course my initial reaction was to accuse him wholeheartedly since Julie went so far as to write, "I would never take my life because of my kids. They are everything to me. My life's greatest accomplishment and wish." But then I started playing devil's advocate and realized if she was disturbed and angry enough at her husband she could easily write the letter and commit suicide -- framing him instantly. I'm too far away from the situation to make any solid judgment call. My thoughts are with the jury though. I hope they'll consider both Mark's and Julie's words as well as all other evidence, and justice will prevail.
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