Discussions on Formal Sentencing Hearing - Jodi Arias #5

[Hope4More]

The passages I read on Amazon's "Look Inside" made the author seem as though she oozed with self-pity. I felt quite sleazed up after just a few minutes. All of it was "poor me" and several segments sounded as much BS-ish as JA's stuff.

A lot of her book is about how amazing! most of her fellow women prisoners were...loving, supportive, creative, resourceful, determined to make the best of the unfair unkind and unfortunate circumstances they were bring subjected to, over, no doubt, a bunch of "bad events."

As I said.....not in the mood for any of that.

 

[TexMex]

I bought and read that book on my Kindle. Have to say I felt NO sympathy for the author or for her goals. For her example, one chapter was devoted to telling readers that prisoners love to receive mail, and how to go about becoming pen pals with a convict.

The book is intended to make readers feel sorry for women prisoners and how they're treated. Personally, that isn't a message I feel like hearing about any time soon.

I felt sympathy for a woman with breast cancer going through surgery and chemo in prison. Also for her cellmmate who suffered and died at age 25 when the jail staff didn't take her to receive care at a hospital. The author IMO accepted her sentence and tried to make the best of her six years.
The most interesting to me was the description of the cells, the yard, the food, the guards etc
Prison is punishment. Everything about it is tragic.
I don't have any prison pen pals but it doesn't bother me if they get mail Most of these women will get out someday and perhaps some outside communication and caring would benefit them.

 

[Hope4More]

I felt sympathy for a woman with breast cancer going through surgery and chemo in prison. Also for her cellmmate who suffered and died at age 25 when the jail staff didn't take her to receive care at a hospital. The author IMO accepted her sentence and tried to make the best of her six years.
The most interesting to me was the description of the cells, the yard, the food, the guards etc
Prison is punishment. Everything about it is tragic.
I don't have any prison pen pals but it doesn't bother me if they get mail Most of these women will get out someday and perhaps some outside communication and caring would benefit them.

TexMex....I understand what you're saying. I really do. Before this trial I was a certified "bleeding heart liberal" and more an ACLU fan that not.

Maybe I'll revert back to that at some point again. Or not. This trial has taught me a lot, including the reality that some people are genuinely completely undeserving of any pity, sympathy, or compassion. I've never felt or thought that way before, and I'm not especially young and definitely not naive.

For now, I don't want to imagine JA is going to be surrounded by loving resourceful soulmates. Just not a message I'm receptive to right now.

 

[RickshawFan]

A lot of her book is about how amazing! most of her fellow women prisoners were...loving, supportive, creative, resourceful, determined to make the best of the unfair unkind and unfortunate circumstances they were bring subjected to, over, no doubt, a bunch of "bad events."

As I said.....not in the mood for any of that.

Yes, you are echoing my thoughts exactly. It all made me quite ill, all those "lovely" women being mistreated by the "mean" guards, because, yes, something bad happened that wasn't their fault. Ycccchhhh!

 

[mydirtysecret]

TexMex....I understand what you're saying. I really do. Before this trial I was a certified "bleeding heart liberal" and more an ACLU fan that not.

Maybe I'll revert back to that at some point again. Or not. This trial has taught me a lot, including the reality that some people are genuinely completely undeserving of any pity, sympathy, or compassion. I've never felt or thought that way before, and I'm not especially young and definitely not naive.

For now, I don't want to imagine JA is going to be surrounded by loving resourceful soulmates. Just not a message I'm receptive to right now.

H4m I completely know where your coming from. I think I've mentioned it multiple times on a few threads we really need to have a discussion in this country about our prison system and what we want that prison system to look like. The facts are, only 8% of prisoners are there for violent crimes while 90% of them are In For non Violent drug related crimes. We need to do a better job of separating out those who deserve to be rehabilitated instead of housing ALL Prisoners the same across the board REGARDLESS of their crime. Because of the mass overpopulation fueled by overzealous prosecutors and the war on drugs all of our prisons are overpopulated underfunded to the point where they cannot differentiate between criminals and those that have had a tough lot In life and made some mistakes. Jodi arias, deserves NO rehabilitation. She needs to be housed with the minimum amount of care required by the constitution. No more,no less. She and those cut from the same cloth need to be housed separately and treated differently.

Eta.. Gina the roommate was sentences to only 3.5 years for a non violent crime. Gave birth at 15 years old, fell in with wrong people and like most prisoners was severely addicted to drugs. She died at 25 years old alone,isolated and probably afraid. It's actually tragic. The other prisoner who died after being left out in the sun for too long was in her 20s and was in prison for prostitution. Very low level crimes.

 

[Amster]

Juan tried to have the <unusual person> juror removed....Sherry trembled like a chihuahua and refused. Travis was never going to get justice and the family was never going to see justice served in that courtroom. I think J17 watched the entire trial, knew who Juan was, talked about him with ex and current mates, read/watched The Secret and Law of Attraction and the movie because of the trial and cheered for Jodi to beat JM. When she was called for jury duty it must have been like a dream come true. Never, ever will be convinced she wasn't a stealth juror.

 

[luvmygarden]

A lot of her book is about how amazing! most of her fellow women prisoners were...loving, supportive, creative, resourceful, determined to make the best of the unfair unkind and unfortunate circumstances they were bring subjected to, over, no doubt, a bunch of "bad events."

As I said.....not in the mood for any of that.

Not to sound not sympathetic but how many of us have to live like JA. Too bad she's so bad that her life has to be so bad. Many of us have endured a complicated life but the couch surfer thinks she can do away with someone because she has issues with a guy not giving her what she wants. I agree with you, who wants to try to muster any sympathy for someone like JA . She feels sorry enough for herself and can out do the whole group of us together with her self sympathy all on her own.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

Yes, you are echoing my thoughts exactly. It all made me quite ill, all those "lovely" women being mistreated by the "mean" guards, because, yes, something bad happened that wasn't their fault. Ycccchhhh!

Yikes - call off the complimentary copy - that would only feed in to the killers psychopathy. It would justify it.

Now, I really hope they air the sentencing - perhaps Juan will be able to articulate parts of the report we won't get if someone does a records request.

 

[TexMex]

Yes, you are echoing my thoughts exactly. It all made me quite ill, all those "lovely" women being mistreated by the "mean" guards, because, yes, something bad happened that wasn't their fault. Ycccchhhh!

Some guards are mean. She also met a few nice ones. Same as with the prisoners. Some were hateful, hardened and violent. I watched a BK video this week. She has a lawyer friend who was convicted of a white collar crime and she went to visit her in Perryville!
No matter their backgrounds these women are where they are and have to find a way to live day to day. That part of the book was fascinating

 

[Val1]

apparently she has ALOT of money from donations. one being an overseas donor.

Hopefully it can be proven that she's no longer indigent...

 

[I Object!]

Actually I think the evidence is she slit his throat with his face towards the floor/carpet, as he was crawling away from her. But I'm not so sure she didn't try the gun first and that it jammed at that moment and then she used the knife. I wasn't there, none of us were there, so we don't really know exactly how it all went down. I do not think she intended for the scene to end up as it did, as her intention was to kill him and not get caught. The way it ended up she left footprint(s), hair, and finger/palm prints.

I agree that she tried the gun first. The angle and location of the bullet shows (in my opinion) that she tried to shoot him when she forced him to sit in the shower after brandishing that gun. Clearly she wasn't used to handling a gun because her aim was off. Firing the gun in that small space would have been deafening and she may have been shellshocked briefly. She likely tried to fire the gun again when he did not die but 1) the gun was old 2) it was probably wet 3) she may have tried to shoot him with the muzzle against his skin. .25 semi automatics aren't entirely reliable or effective, which is why they are pretty hard to come by new.

The knife was definitely back up. Same reason she brought knives along in her getaway-mobile the day she was arrested.

 

[katiecoolady]

I'm going down to the Maricopa Cty Courthouse tomorrow for my divorce records. I'll have a wait and a court computer so maybe I'll see if I can snag any records on JA. At least looking will help pass the wait before my number is called.

 

[Bluewater_Girl]

There's a whole lot of spinning going on. In my opinion that was the investigation.

BBM: ? Not sure what you mean by this. When Juan wanted to get subpoenas on March 3rd regarding social media, etc. for this unusual juror #17, he stated that it would take two weeks to obtain the records, IIRC. In my opinion, we'll be hearing a lot more about Juror 17 soon, and it won't bode well for her.

 

[daisydomino]

FWIW....I was hoping we'd get to read Sheriff Joe's report... transcriptions of all her calls, copies of all her incoming and outgoing "correspondence," etc.

No such luck. What will be available, upon request: visitor logs, her disciplinary record, and a list of her canteen purchases. Oh well.

On Fox 10, Troy Hayden said that it takes MCSO two to three days to review and process complaints and create a report. JA's video call visit marathon was just last Saturday (she had about 9 hours of calls just that day.) He said there might be more details of JA's infractions to come, and most likely she will lose more privileges than just the 10 banned visitors.

After she goes to Perryville, it's possible MCSO will release lots more information about JA's jail record—sounded like there are a couple of fat binders full.

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/2...-of-jodi-arias-lose-right-to-make-video-calls

http://youtu.be/_7YWC9TPaJ4
(Troy Hayden joins the webcast around the last 15 minutes)

 

[Val1]

I'm going down to the Maricopa Cty Courthouse tomorrow for my divorce records. I'll have a wait and a court computer so maybe I'll see if I can snag any records on JA. At least looking will help pass the wait before my number is called.

The minutes from February 26th, 2015 should be interesting too!

 

[katiecoolady]

The minutes from February 26th, 2015 should be interesting too!

Ok, I'll see what comes up. I mean Public Records mean's Public, right?

 

[Hope4More]

Some guards are mean. She also met a few nice ones. Same as with the prisoners. Some were hateful, hardened and violent. I watched a BK video this week. She has a lawyer friend who was convicted of a white collar crime and she went to visit her in Perryville!
No matter their backgrounds these women are where they are and have to find a way to live day to day. That part of the book was fascinating

I found that aspect her book fascinating too. And if her accounts of what happened to her first cellmate are true, then shame on the keepers for not providing basic medical care.

I haven't and won't take the time to read up on the crime that earned the author her time in Perryville, but iirc from her book, she and her husband were convicted of defrauding their investors. A white collar crime, not one of direct violence, but the kind of crime that does have victims. Part of what I liked least about her book is her claim of innocence- her husband did it, not her, and without her knowledge. The same husband she professes to love and miss, and who is the most decent man she's ever known.

Maybe I've spent too much time trying to untangle JA's lies and half truths and manipulations, but I have zero tolerance for the author's double talk, her unwillingness to take full responsibility, and for what seems to me her attempt to define herself as a victim.

The rest of my response to her book and to JA is personal. Suffice it to say I've spent a lifetime excusing the unexcusable and forgiving the unforgivable, and I'm finding it very liberating to finally have learned it is quite OK to not do that.

 

[Amster]

I don't understand how a 15 yr. old knows how to make a video call....don't they have to pay by a credit card? Is that how they got caught by the parents? Then.....they do it again and get coached by the killer how to get fake ID's? How does that happen? I thought all jail calls except to lawyers are recorded.....they were in the Haleigh Cummings case in Florida

 

[Hope4More]

Right. Juror 17 said she had left someone a "Happy Bday" post, when asked about her use of Facebook. (no idea if that's true or not).

Wilmott did make that statement, but that doesn't mean the information was true or accurate. That's not proven.

I think Wilmott was essentially threatening JSS- -don't go there, because if one juror is using social media then others likely are too, and you only have 2 alternates. I doubt that had any effect on JSS, though. She might have replaced 17 if the foreperson not not reported an improvement in 17's willingness to deliberate, but I even doubt that.

As AZL has said, the risk of overturning the sentence on appeal was astronomically high had she removed the only holdout to a DP sentence. 17 shouldn't have been on the jury, but she was, and despite how woefully or minimally, she did "deliberate" enough, in the strictest legal definition of the word.

 

[daisydomino]

BBM: ? Not sure what you mean by this. When Juan wanted to get subpoenas on March 3rd regarding social media, etc. for this unusual juror #17, he stated that it would take two weeks to obtain the records, IIRC. In my opinion, we'll be hearing a lot more about Juror 17 soon, and it won't bode well for her.

But after that it says:

The Court found that without more specific information the Court could not conclude the Juror 17 improperly viewed information about the case. The Court acknowledged the juror had the opportunity to read about the case on her Facebook page, but all jurors have that opportunity every day to read or see or hear something about this case if they wish to do so. See R.T. March 4, 2015, pages 27, 28. It is presumed the jurors will follow the court’s instructions. There is no presumption a juror will betray his/her trust. It is in the sound discretion of the trial court to determine whether a juror should be interrogated about violating the admonition.