Verdict is in! GUILTY of MURDER ONE - Hung Jury On Penalty Phase

[jaijcook]

This outcome is all the more reason why DP should be taken off the table and life row (is that what we were calling it?) should be put in its place. If given the option between executing Jodi, or sentencing her to "death row" living conditions for the rest of her miserable life, I would give her the latter. Heaven help me but I want her to suffer. I don't think anybody would have a problem sending a killer to life row.

 

[legalmania]

As far as I understand prisoner #2013 situation is according to statutes :

http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/13/00701.htm&Title=13&DocType=ARS

http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/13/00752.htm&Title=13&DocType=ARS

 

[Nali87]

So what about the civil suit?

They can file it.
They got the "guilty" verdict. :rockon:

 

[aa9511]

Ok all, I'm signing off for today. And to be honest, I am completely drained...can't even imagine what the Alexander family is feeling right now.

I'm also exhausted with the non-stop death penatly discussions everywhere. It's easy for us or anyone on the outside to say, oh why don't they just settle for LWOP, why do people want CMJA to die, etc., etc.. Well, what I have to say about that is that there are not many people in the world who have gone through what they have...who have seen their brother viciously slaughtered. I completely support the Alexander family's and the State of Arizona's decision to go for the death penalty. It's easy, so easy, for us on the outside to say why can't they be happy, CMJA will be locked up for the rest of her life. BUt no, it is not that easy, I'm sure.

Sooo....next trial, please guys, let's remember that they will be deliberating the death penalty BASED ON THE LAW IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA. Not you or me, or other people. THAT IS THE LAW. And they have to go BY THE LAW, whether they agree with it or not.

I hope next time, can we please not have as much discussion of the death penalty itself? Thanks.

 

[Fuskier]

I just believe that someone bought the DT mitigation. In retrospect, I think they played that very well. I don't think that the difference between mental illness and BPD was explained enough. You have to admit that CKja's little show was nuts. The things she said, book club comes to mind. Someone could have thought she was mentally ill, almost child like. That and no witnesses, especially her family appeared to be neglect. We all know better but they did not. They really did not get to see the REAL JA as we have.

Someone could not go with DP for a mentally ill, abandoned person. I cannot fault them for that, that was what was presented to them and they bought it. (I only think there were 1 maybe 2)

IMO, they followed the law. Not their fault that the DT was very underhanded and lied just as well as their client. Something needs to be done about that!

aoibhinn
Registered User

I said in a post yesterday that this bothered me. I had a bad feeling about it. Only my belief is that Jodi has ASPD and not BPD. She is a very dangerous person.
My only satisfaction comes from replaying the deadlock verdict being read. Jodi's face crumples when she looks at the jury while they confirm their verdict. IMO, she cannot believe that those who voted for the DP didn't back down. She can't believe any one of them would see her dead.

Tend to agree with these posts. This was my concern also that the distinction between organic Mental Illness and a Personality Disorder was not being made clear for the Jury's comprehension. A personality disorder refers to a person's character development. It does not change as the person's character has developed that way. Inmate Arias was NOT diagnosed with a Mental Illness. She had adult full capacity when she murdered Travis Alexander in a cold & calculated plan; she then concealed her involvement demonstrating more calculation typical of the sociopath IMO.

 

[believe09]

As long as we stay within TOS, I think it is ok for sleuthers to post their thoughts and feelings. If we are angry, we are entitled to be so. If we are sad, same deal.

No one should feel that they dont have a right to express their anger, disappointment or frustration. Or opinions, for that matter.

 

[Ricki]

Gitana

When this gets retried will CM be allowed add to her her story/or does she have to stick to what she has already said adding nothing more? We know she has added to her story through her interviews, for instance she said she was covered with bruises and continues trashing TA

 

[N2Juanderful]

Love to all the WS community. MOre food for thought:
Oh my gosh. A hung jury for the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial. This jury could not reach a unanimous decision of death versus life.

My heart is literally breaking and shattering for the Alexander family and for Juan Martinez.

So many people (like me) are feeling that justice has failed again. There are no words of comfort that lessen or lighten the pain that so many people are experiencing right now.

For the Alexander family, this was devastating.

Once again, they have to live through the horror and wait again for the next phase that is scheduled to begin in July. They have nothing, absolutely nothing to comfort them, give them closure, and no sense of justice after the brutal slaughter of their beloved brother Travis.

Jodi Arias’s family was notably absent for this verdict and did not present themselves for this huge verdict. As reported by Arizona media, Jodi’s mom is upset!

Really? Your daughter is facing death and you can’t drag your sorry *advertiser censored* to court knowing that every single social media outlet is announcing extra security, gather the masses, attorneys, etc….. And she is upset?

What the **** was she doing?

It was tweeted multiple times that Jodi’s family was visiting the Grand Canyon today. Well, God bless them for taking a personal time out to travel and see the sights rather than stick close to the court house knowing that the jury was hours/minutes away from announcing a verdict.

Ms. Arias threw her arm and hand out toward her family when making her allocution presentation and noted she wanted life due to her family. Yet today, when **** was about to hit the fan, her “family” was too involved and busy to be at her side. Once again, this dysfunctional cartoon of a family cannot and will not accept reality and mocks the victim’s family, the court, the attorneys, and just like Jodi, blames everyone else for what doesn’t go their way.

Momma Arias et al are not to be petted and soothed because they made a deliberate choice to be away from the court when they fully knew a verdict could come at any minute.

Despite the outcome, Jodi is still a convicted murderer. She was found guilty of a heinous crime. She is not walking. She is not a free woman. We have to remember that Jodi was found guilty of murder in the first degree. She was found guilty of cruelty. She brutally slaughtered a young man by stabbing him 29 times, slicing (sawing) his throat and finished the act by a gunshot wound to the head. She dragged his body to the shower, covered up what she could, then took off for the desert in a fog and landed in the arms of another male as though nothing happened.

She lied not once, not twice, not three times….but repeatedly and continues to this day to lie and use anyone as a pawn to draw attention to herself and blame anyone (including her family) for what she did.

It’s very difficult for me and others to embrace the jury’s decision and applaud them for a job well done. I cannot for one moment find a reason to hate or despise what this jury delivered, but I don’t have to like it at all.

We will at some point know what these jurors were feeling, and why they felt the need for security for their decision, and why they needed to shut this down at this point. It’s difficult to understand why this jury who were sworn as being able to deliver a death penalty now delivered a hung verdict. That’s the worst and most difficult part to understand.

We may never know why someone or a group could not offer a death penalty. Someone obviously was holding out and felt a mitigating factor was worth consideration. What mitigating factor Jodi has is a total mystery to me even with her age, no prior history and lack of family support. There are thousands of people with worse circumstances but yet Ms. Arias rises to the top like she’s the cream.

For all of Wilmott and Nurmi’s pleas to be removed from the case, for all the shady maneuvers, they all seem pretty smug right now.

Kama’s a ***** I tell you.

This ain’t over by a long shot.

It’s just delayed.

Wilmott and Nurmi have nothing to be joyous about. They still represent a woman whom they’ve tried to ditch and distance themselves from.

Alyce has nothing to be happy about tonight. Nor does Donovan, Nor does Ms. Arias. Jodi is STILL guilty. She murdered and slaughtered a man three times.

Let us not forget this for one nano second. Let us not forget all the autopsy photos. Let us not forget that Jodi put a man in a grave and that she continues to mock everyone and the justice system because she feels she is superior, more intelligent, more worthy, and more insightful and devious than the rest of us.

Time to walk away and not give this woman one more minute of thought. Time to let her go back to her cell and devise more manipulation and deceit. It’s time for us to move on, live our lives, love and enjoy our freedom, love and hug our families, go on with life and live it to the fullest. We should not stop, drop and roll for this troll. We should not give her or her defense team one second of joy.

We should focus on life, healing, and pray for closure for the Alexander siblings. We should focus on Juan’s ability to pursue this case to the end and let our own biases fade away.

There is a bigger solution and end to this and it’s not up to us because we aren’t the judge or jury to make the decision. Let’s hold hands, and move on with our lives because what Jodi does not have is freedom. Remember, we have freedom. Despite a hung jury, Jodi does NOT have freedom and never will.

Irregardless of what happened this evening, let us take comfort that Jodi is not a free woman. This is not over. She is not walking amongst us. Let us focus on the Alexanders, not the jury and certainly not Jodi or her family.

 

[Curious Me]

Wow, Abe A. on DrD, he says he'd be able to pull the switches, push the buttons, or trigger on her. He is a person who went on a date with her! I do respect his directness throughout this trial. Abe's opinion is always firm, and DrD should take some lessons.

 

[mck16]

Dr. Drew is an idiot. He's spouting off about everyone being upset because they're dead set on death for the CM. What everyone is UPSET about Dr. Drew is that there WAS NO DECISION. I could have lived with LWOP... as long as there was SOME DECISION MADE. Why am I watching the drama on HLN? I barely ever do, and tonight they are pizzing me off. :stormingmad:


ETA: Loved NG hanging up on DB though. Made me fall in love with Nancy all over again :lol:.

I wish someone would ask DD if he thinks Jodi if given the chance would murder again. jmo

 

[TexasMother]

I wonder how much money Arizona will have in Jodi Arias at the end of all of this? Who is in the running for the most expensive prisoner ever?

 

[Hope4More]

I am going to ask again that folks try to not be so angry with the jury, or believe without any real evidence that someone lied on the voir dire.

THIS jury did 4 months of horrific service.
THIS jury found JA guilty of first degree murder.
THIS jury found aggravating circumstances.

Unless you've been in a jury room...unless you've been the one to hang a jury (and I have), you don't know what it takes to stand there and follow your conviction against 11 other people. To stand there, knowing that you would be the 'bad guy' forever and ever...and still go with what you honestly feel, what you honestly believe. I *have* been there...and while it was not a death penalty, it was still excruciatingly hard to do. And I don't regret doing it.

Please understand that until you've been there, in a jury room, and find yourself going against the grain...until you've had to stand there and listen for 4 days about what a horrible person you are for not going along with things; until you've been there, knowing each day that you have to drag yourself in and dammit all try to find the courage to stand there with your conviction...

Until you've been there, you don't know. It's not lying. It's not misconduct. It's the dammed jury system in all it's failings and glory.

I've done a lot of difficult things in my life. Serving on and then hanging a jury ranks up there as second only to enduring my father's death.

Please step back just a bit. I get the anger. I get the upset; but JA is still convicted. She is still in jail and will be for at least a very, very long time. And there is at least one juror out there tonight who is devastated that they couldn't go against their conviction and find that JA deserved the death penalty.

To that juror(s), I say thank you. Thank you for having the moral courage to stand up and be true to yourself. I've been there, I know what it takes, and I know what you face now and for the rest of your life. Thank you for having the courage of your conviction. And while I may disagree with you on this case, I am proud that you were able to stand there and follow through with what you believed to be right.

This takes NOTHING away from the pain the Alexanders feel, and will feel. This post has nothing to do with them...I feel so horrible for them...and like I said, I disagree with how it came down. But I know what it takes...and I respect the person who stood there, knowing they would get death threats and disappoint everyone and who feels that pressure now and forever.

I'm out of this thread for now...I'm frustrated with folks who are so mad at the juror(s) and are calling them liars. I've been there.

Best-
Herding Cats

I hear you, and am not the least bit angry with this jury. They did their best. It is possible to think that and also be feel an overwhelming sadness, for Travis, for his family who has to endure still more, and for the sense that something so brutal and obvious should be able to be resolved by 12 well meaning and dutiful people, and yet, it is not.

 

[InALandFarFarAway]

Even in the worst case scenarios:

This Judge will give her life without parole

Even with parole JA would have to confess to murdering Travis in cold blood and express remorse in order to be set out. She'll never do that like Diane Downs...

Or Betty Broderick. I think CMBB and CMJA are two peas in a pathetic pod.

But only one more needle to dodge.

Since the second jury won't have seen all of her pathologically lying evilness for 18 days on the stand, they'll believe almost all of what she tells them.

When she hangs the next jury, she wins.

If winning is life in prison. She just loses less if it's LWOP and loses more if it is DP.

And I do not believe the next jury will have the luxury of being seated at the feet of Her Royal Evilness and since Juan is probably going to give them no time to form any sort of attachment or bonding or understanding.

She's headed for epic DOOM. She's just prolonging it.

Natural Life with no appeals has people worried she'll be a prison diva, but who knows if that's worth a big expensive further battle.

Oh, she doesn't know what a prison diva is yet. When she does find out, it will be pretty clear she was never in the running.

 

[TexMex]

Thanks, but I was asking that if she is convicted of the DP under a new jury, will that set her up for a strong appeal to get off. Anybody know??

Someone sentenced to death under a new jury already tried that appeal. It was rejected and confirmed to be Constitutional...appealed all the way up to US Supreme Court, so no, it won't be a strong issue for her to argue because it has already been litigated

 

[travelgal]

I will give my two cents, knowing that there are other lawyers on this thread who practice criminal law and will correct me if I am wrong. But, this is what I see:

1. Jodi is on lock down, no interviews, while this drags on. That appears to be the same as if she is on death row. This could go on for an extended period due to the next phase.

2. Juan and his office (with input from the family) can offer a plea of life in prison if she gives up her appeals. This would be huge if accepted. Waiving appeals would get us farther than life would have gotten us today.

3. It may take a while, but I believe there are many, many people who are not familiar with this case. Not in that immediate area, but as many others have pointed out, some people have never heard of it.

4. This is not a win for the defense. Even if there is a plea bargain, this is no win for the defense. They are at the mercy of the prosecutors. Even if Wilmot and Nurmi get to leave, JA will be forced, with other lawyers, to move forward if the prosecution decides. I personally believe it would be harder to find a lawyer to accept her case than it would be to find a jury who would hear it.

5. God has a purpose. I know this. The Alexander family will need our prayers and our help, but there is a purpose here. I am so grateful that, whatever the deadlock, it didn't happen until now. THAT IS HUGE. I would much rather have a mistrial now than on any verdict prior to this. She is convicted. That part is done. That is a huge blessing. The same individuals who couldn't agree here could have held out then. That did not happen. Sometimes instead of looking at what has been taken away, we must remember what we have been given. What was given to the Alexanders is huge. They saw this through to her conviction. At this point, other decisions may need to be made. But, she is convicted and MOST IMPORTANTLY Travis' name has been cleared. There is no doubt about that and that is worth more than anything, even JA's death for her crime.

This jury has been a blessing. There is a purpose in this part as well. This will be alright and it will turn out for the greatest good - whatever that may be. I have no doubt there are angels watching over the Alexanders, on earth and in heaven. They are special people. Let us not forget them in our prayers in the months to come. Circle the wagons! - A Mormon pioneer saying

Wonderful and informative post. I hope all readers will take the time
to read here. Bless you!

 

[raisincharlie]

Winning= another shot at death or life in prison... that's pathetic. Go on with your bad self, JA.

Someone asked why the sudden change in heart by the sheriff when he decided no more interviews for JA. I don't know about Maricopa County but in our county the sheriff is an elected post. I wouldn't be surprised to find that he got a lot of backlash from allowing those interviews.

Earlier I was questioning the judge's decision to lift the ban on interviews while the penalty phase was in deliberations. I still question it. I tend to think that Sheriff Joe may have had an ulterior motive for allowing them once the judge lifted the ban.

You have to admit - her depravity was on full display for everyone to see. There is a treasure trove of issues in those interviews, if this phase is retried and JM gets to use some of those clips, there should be no doubt to a jury of reasonable people that this little murderer has nothing of value to offer this world or anyone present in it, and has no redeeming qualities in spite of Wilmott guilting the jury.

 

[Steely Dan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-VC4efUqrg

 

[LadyEdith]

Pi$$ing match between JVM and Abe Abdelhadi on DR

 

[Melanie]

After the Casey Marie Anthony trial, and now the Jodi Arias trial - I AM DONE. I will not be here for a long while. I need to get my life back, and realize that no longer in the USA justice is not served. I have been an advocate for justice -- but I am broken.

Best of luck to all of you. May we meet again someday.

Melanie

 

[kscornfed]

I'm just reposting this because I haven't gotten an answer yet. Can someone please verify or correct me on this? TIA

I don't think you're far off at all. I think we could see new lawyers, change of venue motions, fights over those interviews coming in....all kinds of things will happen before this starts.