8 Mitigating Factors Proffered by Def Team

[Liebchenmutti]

Good friend!?!?

Didn't Jodi say Travis and she were good friends? According to Jodi, they were such good friends their children would play together; they'd make sure to attend each others' funerals.

She also used the word 'friend' ad nauseum on her 48 Hours & other interviews. "I'm accused of killing my friend Travis Alexander"--I think I've heard that a million times!

 

[Liebchenmutti]

I'm wondering if the age factor of 27 is the fact that she's lived 27 years without being arrested or hurting another person, instead of saying she was 'young' or 'inexperienced' at age 27.

 

[DebinGA]

She also used the word 'friend' ad nauseum on her 48 Hours & other interviews. "I'm accused of killing my friend Travis Alexander"--I think I've heard that a million times!

Yes, she claimed all TA's friends as hers too, except the oft-mentioned Rachel who she lived with in Mesa and testified that TA didn't like. If I were a juror, I'd wonder why Rachel wasn't called to speak on JA's behalf.

 

[lil_buddy]

He'll likely lie for her. There was an account of how Jodi conducted herself when she worked with Darryl--they both lied about him being her manager and NOT dating her until he was no longer her supervisor. She was a waitress & he was Food & Beverage manager & she got preferential treatment. One day she wanted to switch a shift w/another waitress, was told no & she kicked a hole in the wall in the bathroom. It was on the State vs Jodi Arias FB page a while back--I don't have the specific link.

I don't think he will knowingly lie for her.
:twocents: :moo:
He just doesn't come off as a liar to me, fwiw. I'm no "human lie detector" uke: :banghead:

 

[redbud]

I find the mitigating factors they are using offensive to the nature of the crime and very telling that this is the best the defense can do. I have no doubt that the art was JA's idea and is being using only as infomercial for the future. She is going to need a way to make money in jail off of something other than Travis's murder.

I still think JA's best bet would be to put her mom/dad or a sibling, probably a sibling on the stand. I think it's pretty clear the jury doesn't believe a word JA has said so they won't believe what her friends say. They already likely believe she lied about the childhood abuse and have seen her mother in court everyday. The only sympathy that may come would be for a parent or sibling to get up there and say I can't justify or understand how my daughter could have done this but please don't let me lose my daughter/sister as well by death. SA gives off a strange vibe though, I can't get a read on any loving or anguished emotion towards jodi so I think a sibling would probably help the best.

 

[LambChop]

Yes, something must have happened then to make her mother spend so much money that they could ill afford to come and bring her back to Yreka, I wonder why we don't know what led up to that.

This or similar would be included in my final close if I were Nurmi/Willmott:

---
Maybe the only true mitigating factor is simply that she is a human being; aside from the usual faults and failings of such, she also has mental impairments, although the psychologists don't agree on what her mental issues are, she certainly has them, and plenty of them.

She didn't ask for them or intentionally give herself the mental/personality problems that she has, medical science does not know if she was born with them or they developed throughout the early stages of her life.
As an adult she did have the responsibility of seeking help, but if her mental state is such that she believes she is normal and it is others that are not, she may never think the problems lie within herself. And even if she had sought help, medical science currently says it has little in the way of treatment for her conditions.

If a society is judged by how it treats the worst of its own, can this same community mourn its beloved brother Travis, taken so young and viciously, while in the next breath condemn this misfit of a human to death?

Do we embrace the hypocricy of a death penalty? Doling out what we ourselves say is the worst offense one can commit upon another? How can the State participate in the same behavior it forbids?

The State does make the death penalty available to you, and even if you feel her crime deserves this ultimate punishment, I impore you to find mercy in your hearts and give her a life sentence.

Although this was the most heinous crime one can inflict on another, it was an isolated incident, as her lack of a criminal history attests. However with a life sentence, society will be protected from her and hopefully some day medical science will develop treatments so that a person like her will never find herself so out of control as to take another human being's life.
----

I have no idea what either Nurmi/Willmott will actually say.

It would be helpful if JA makes a statement (instead of testimony), accepts full responsibility, speaks with honesty of her remorse and sorrow for the life she took and for the family that she has permanently wounded, and flat out begs for them to spare her life.

But based on how this trial has evolved, I expect she'll testify and give JM another opportunity to rend her limb from limb. Hopefully her plan will be to make JM drag the truth out of her, and she will let him. But I don't see a nice quiet ending to this, nothing about it has been nice or quiet.

I would think it would be improper for defense to "guilt" or judge the jury in there decision making. They can ask that they show mercy and come back with a LWOP as a proper punishment.

 

[LambChop]

He'll likely lie for her. There was an account of how Jodi conducted herself when she worked with Darryl--they both lied about him being her manager and NOT dating her until he was no longer her supervisor. She was a waitress & he was Food & Beverage manager & she got preferential treatment. One day she wanted to switch a shift w/another waitress, was told no & she kicked a hole in the wall in the bathroom. It was on the State vs Jodi Arias FB page a while back--I don't have the specific link.

I often wondered if JM was able to talk to Darryl's ex-wife? I bet she has some stories that were relayed to her by her son.

 

[raisincharlie]

1. Age = 27 Not under 21 or over 70, who cares.

2. Lack of Criminal History Growing pot at 14, HS dropout, moving in with a guy because she won’t follow rules; stalking behavior (that escalates to premeditated murder) already began with BW. Bad acts; EVERYTHING she did from the day of the murder right up to the interview AFTER conviction TRASHING Travis.

3. A Good Friend Seriously?!? According to Stabby, Travis was her BEST FRIEND. Saying “with friends like this…”. There is a reason her ONLY ‘friend’ to testify comes from Junior High…she creeps people out.

4. Lacked Support from Family Aside from Mom there every day, Aunt almost, sick and dying Dad and wheelchair bound Gramma showed up, Stabby was abusive to her Mom and when Mom tried to SUPPORT her in moving, Stabby sent her back home, didn’t *like* her judgmental support. Blah, blah. Perhaps *family support* is lacking because they’re TERRIFIED OF HER.

5a. Suffered Abuse & Neglect as Child Liar
5b. Suffered Abuse & Neglect as Adult Ditto Liar
6. Tried to Make the Best of her Life *Barf*
7. Consistently Tried to Improve Herself Ditto liar, ditto manipulator, Ditto *Barf*.
8. Talented Artist Joining the chorus of ‘Oh paleeze’!! Take the $$ to maintain her and dedicate to after school art programs.

:facepalm: :banghead: :jail:

The only mitigating factor of any note is :

The murderer did not physically harm Napoleon (that we are aware of) during her murderous rampage. However, this is mitigated by the fact she savaged his owner and abandonned the dog to fend for itself.

 

[gcharlie]

I started to respond in detail and then stopped myself. Honestly, it is not worth my time or effort.

This laughable list is the DT's Hail Mary pass and is bound to fail. I'd bet the farm on CKJA having the loudest voice in assembling this list; in spite of her insistence that Nurmi is the boss, she is still calling the shots which will ultimately lead to failure. Without a significant change in DT strategy, the court and observers will continue to see more of the same contemptible behavior.

I do not expect to see any change. I have no doubt in my mind that her counsel has read her the riot act and laid things out for her in the starkest words possible, yet even this morning, a new tweet has appeared under the account that Donovan has been managing (@jodiannarias). Come next week, CKJA will grace us with yet another thinly veiled invective in a sickly sweet voice.

 

[Liebchenmutti]

I don't think he will knowingly lie for her.
:twocents: :moo:
He just doesn't come off as a liar to me, fwiw. I'm no "human lie detector" uke: :banghead:

Ha! I forgot all about our beloved "Human Lie Detecor!!" :floorlaugh:

I don't know about DB--he's very sympathetic to Jodi, but I don't think even if he relates stories of how angelic she is, the jury will care. They've made up their minds IMO.

I would like to know if it was HIS pee pee photo that Willmott was waving around!

 

[Liebchenmutti]

What really strikes me as absurd about these "mitigating factors" is that Juan Martinez is one of 7 or 8 siblings whose parents were illiterate farm workers--he had to learn English at age 6 when they moved to California.


It amazes me how some people rise above and make a difference, and others just flush it all down the toilet.

 

[beldon]

1. Age = 27 ………………………………....... no weight given

Old enough to know better, but heartless enough not to care

2. Lack of Criminal History………………very little weight given

To me, "criminal history" does not necessarily mean "arrests". This jury knows about her prior stalking behavior, tire slashing, etc. Even without this, I fail to see how she should be given credit for waiting all of 27 years before she slaughtered another human being.



3. A Good Friend ………………………………less than zero weight given

Darrell - a good friend doesn't bail on financial agreements and leave you holding the bag. A good friend doesn't involve you in a pre-meditated murder plot when she could've gotten her own gas cans for less than getting her nails done. A good friend would want to spend more than 30 minutes visiting you (and not cut into that already short time by jumping on his computer to check her facebook).

Patty did she see her more than once(wedding) in the 10+ years since they were childhood friends? Did jaCK bail her out of jail when she was arrested? Attend any interventions when she needed help with Heroin addiction? Visit her in rehab?
Please...

Travis - Good friends don't snoop, spy, hack, harrass, and murder their friends.

4. Lacked Support from Family……………..….no weight given

She had an abundance of family support, and took gross advantage of it.


5a. Suffered Abuse & Neglect as Child ………no weight given

Abuse = wooden spoon and Father saying she had a big butt (if we even believe that much). Cry me a river

Neglect = huh? first I remember hearing of this one.

5b. Suffered Abuse & Neglect as Adult ………no weight given

I guess this is supposed to include Bobby and Travis - zero indication other than her herpes ridden mouth. How do you neglect an adult? Leave them home alone? Don't feed them? Neglect to recognize they will not be ignored?



6. Tried to Make the Best of her Life ………no weight given

No credit. No one tries to make the worst they can of their lives. And yet, she managed to anyway.

7. Consistently Tried to Improve Herself…...... slight weight given

Ok, well she did try to improve her *advertiser censored*. Epic fail.

She did list a lot of book titles on her myspace, most of which dealt with bettering yourself , achieving goals and finding success. That she was constantly looking for shortcuts in her life is telling, but since the key word here is 'tried' - slight weight given. (but not even in the same universe for it to be a valid mitigating factor.)



8. Talented Artist ............less than zero weight given

Please don't throw rocks - I actually think she could've had some talent here. She traces of course, another example of taking the short cut to success. IMO having been born with a talent is not a mitigating factor, but an advantage not everyone has - an unpursued opportunity.

 

[kscornfed]

JA's parents didn't do enough to control/confront JA when younger, just based on what I know. Other than the pot-on-the-roof episode, is there any documented proof showing they sought help in dealing with JA? She habitually stayed out all night - any missing person reports filed with police? She was a chronic truant - any records of their meetings with school admins discussing consequences for that? In rebuttal JM produced a JA email to Travis re her history of knocking in doors and putting holes in walls. Those are crimes, right? What consequences/plan of actions followed her pot bust? Did she have a juvie record/probation officer? etc. etc.

I know parents are limited by their kid's choices, but they're not limited re their responses to those bad choices. What proof is there that there were any? I think it's likely her parents were terrified of what she might do, and especially what she might say/lie about if they approached le/family svcs./school counselors for help. I bet her siblings have genuine PTSD because of the misery JA caused in that household, and the parents were thrilled when she left, but guilty and enabling ever since because they failed to what they should have when it might have made a difference. Mrs. Arias told Det. Flores of JA's friends calling her in the middle of the night seeking help for her. Where's the evidence that the Arias ever involved mental health pros in JA life then or earlier when it might have helped? Sorry for the rant but if all they did was wring their hands helplessly and practice the "Law of A - wishing will make it so" phllosophy while young JA ran amouk and created havoc, they deserve no respect imo.

i have friends and family who did much the same with their difficult kids too. none of the kids have killed anyone, but they're troubled adults now.

what i observed was that awful behavior wasn't dealt with when it happened---from the beginning. it was a 'phase', it was their age, it wasn't that big a deal. whatever. it was like if we just ignore this, it will go away. i told one of my best friends when her kids were 7 and 8 that i just couldn't go out to eat with them anymore because they terrorized every restaurant we went to. i got tired of it.

well, then they hit puberty and everything that hasn't been addressed before blows up. they're completely out of control. then the excuse is 'well, he/she's a teenager....what are you going to do?'

i don't mean disrespect to them, but i don't think JA's parents are real bright. they had other kids, and they were running a business. they didn't appreciate the seriousness of what was going on, and unless we find it out later, they didn't seek help for her. who knows if it would have mattered. but i WOULD like to know if they even tried.

 

[katiedid2]

I must have misunderstood what this thread was about. I laid out my thoughts on "Lack of Family Support". Juan Martinez can easily lay this out. :facepalm: Danged it I do and danged if I don't.....OMG

Auburn
Great post
:seeya:

 

[katiedid2]

The only reason she had no criminal history is because she was never reported for trespassing.
This is worse than pathetic!
I agree with JA. There is nothing.

No reason for her to speak either. The jury will not believe anything she says now.
moo

Had it been reported she would of had a criminal history of stalking,slashing tires, hacking into his bank accounts etc

 

[kscornfed]

The only mitigating factor of any note is :

The murderer did not physically harm Napoleon (that we are aware of) during her murderous rampage. However, this is mitigated by the fact she savaged his owner and abandonned the dog to fend for itself.

you're like me----i thought a lot about that poor dog. killing his owner is cruel. the person napoleon loved and trusted the most----his person---was taken from him.
plus, he had to have heard what was going on with screaming, words, etc. he must have been terrified. then she had to walk past him downstairs and keep him from going upstairs.
then the poor thing had to live in that house, without his daddy, smelling him decompose for 5 days.

animal cruelty for sure.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

However, trying to get a sense of whether, on a factor-by-factor basis,
our members think the Mit. factor has been already proven, is likely to be proven (w. what we know)
OR whether Def. hasn't shown it and will be unable to prove it next week.

Keep in mind, it's not enough to just prove a mitigating factor as a fact. The jurors have to each personally weight those factors against the aggravating factor and the facts and circumstances of the case.

The law does not presume what is the appropriate sentence. The defendant does not have the burden of proving that life is the appropriate sentence. The state does not have the burden of proving that death is the appropriate sentence. It is for you, as jurors, to decide what you individually believe is the appropriate sentence. In reaching a reasoned, moral judgment about which sentence is justified and appropriate, you must decide how compelling or persuasive the totality of the mitigating factors is when compared against the totality of the aggravating factors and the facts and circumstances of the case. This assessment is not a mathematical one but instead must be made in light of each juror’s individual, qualitative evaluation of the facts of the case, the severity of the aggravating factor and the quality of the mitigating factors found by each juror.

 

[shelley921]

Lack of criminal history...well, didn't the jury hear about several instances of breaking and entering, theft of a ring, harassment, and vandalism (tire slashings)? It's true she wasn't arrested for any of that, unfortunately, but as a juror I would hardly consider JA a model citizen prior to June 4, 2008.

yes--agree! I also think she really did not try much to 'better herself'. She was a hs dropout and she didn't get her GED until after she was arrested and in jail for awhile.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

I don't think he will knowingly lie for her.
:twocents: :moo:
He just doesn't come off as a liar to me, fwiw. I'm no "human lie detector" uke: :banghead:

I get the opposite vibe from him, that he's a practiced liar. He lied about when they started dating and he suffered from too many convenient memory lapses during JM's cross. And going by what JA told Flores about the "nervous breakdown" incident, their relationship wasn't as calm and rosy as DB initially portrayed.

 

[shelley921]

i have friends and family who did much the same with their difficult kids too. none of the kids have killed anyone, but they're troubled adults now.

what i observed was that awful behavior wasn't dealt with when it happened---from the beginning. it was a 'phase', it was their age, it wasn't that big a deal. whatever. it was like if we just ignore this, it will go away. i told one of my best friends when her kids were 7 and 8 that i just couldn't go out to eat with them anymore because they terrorized every restaurant we went to. i got tired of it.

well, then they hit puberty and everything that hasn't been addressed before blows up. they're completely out of control. then the excuse is 'well, he/she's a teenager....what are you going to do?'

i don't mean disrespect to them, but i don't think JA's parents are real bright. they had other kids, and they were running a business. they didn't appreciate the seriousness of what was going on, and unless we find it out later, they didn't seek help for her. who knows if it would have mattered. but i WOULD like to know if they even tried.

I agree--the parents do not seem that bright to me either. I sense a big lack of interest in Jodi on her parents part. If her parents had ever established a close & meaningful relationship with her, they would have understood that she had personality problems and would have gotten help for her. My younger brother dropped out of college his 2nd year and moved home in a state of depression. My mother -who was a widow working 2 jobs to support us - immediately took him to a therapist. This was back in 1975-!

Their inability to recognize their daughter needed help really gets me.

I sense they were/are the type of parents that do not hug their kids or say "I love you" . They just had kids in hopes of receiving unconditional love & had no expectation of anything other than ideal behavior.

As soon as Jodi started messing up, in her early youth, they distanced themselves from her. They called the police. They were clueless as to how to deal with her pot growing/smoking when she was 14. They didn't seem to care when she moved out and dropped out of school.