Retrial for Sentencing of Jodi Arias - Day 31

[bettybaby00]

Well, there are just so many diagnoses in the DSM that I think every "evil" person can be diagnosed with one or more of them. I mean, people don't cruelly murder others with premeditation if they are 100% mentally healthy.

Exactly, there has to be a level of cray cray involved b/c "normal" people don't rely on such tactics as a means of resolving "conflict."

 

[ziggy]

I wonder if anyone on the jury will have a hard time reconciling the sex on the day of the murder. I am in the camp ( I think a camp with very few members) that is not convinced they had sex that day, but the case has been presented that they did, and so just wondering if anyone on the jury may have that weigh into their vote? IDK. It just doesn't jive with all we heard today that Travis would have gone for it at that point in time. Those texts with his friend were in late May. But again, as someone else suggested a few days ago, maybe JA came unannounced but gave the old "I am so sorry, let's make up, let's move on, let's do it for old time's sake speech" and Travis fell for it?? Maybe she threatened suicide?

IMO some relationships are based solely on sex, and the sexual chemistry can be strong, almost irresistible. I think it depends on what really was said in the phone calls immediately prior to the visit, what state TA was in at the time, whether it's possible that he only agreed to let her visit with no intention of having sex, and whether her mere physical presence tipped his scale into mojo overload and he made another bad judgment. I don't see it as very likely that, with the photo evidence, they did not abstain that day.

 

[Caylee Advocate]

BBM - Oh boohoohoo.... So take the whole bottle and skip the blade, sheesh.

The 9mm she bought would have done the trick.

 

[LinasK]

To me if she doesn't get the death penalty it will be for the same reason that most women who commit same like crimes or worse than males don't receive it. It will be because she happens to be a rather youngish white female.

Yet Arizona has put women on Death Row before 3x, and one of them by Juan-Wendy Andriano!!! Also white & Female, not old.

 

[Lochlynsmom]

JA mentions having had "the conversation" with TA on May 22(that's the date she wrote, it could have been any day, I'm pretty sure much of this is pre-med covering her tracks), the day she got her new phone and just days after she mentions her old phone got "stolen"(later found by her dear Aunt Sue...just in time to be used for her third story). I'm guessing it had to do with their sexting and/or sex tape that she had recorded illegally and either admissions that she'd already forwarded them to his new marriage interests or threats to do so. Didn't Mimi's interest cool down very quickly about that time too?

May 15th is when Mimi mentioned she wanted to go to Cancun as friends.

 

[JSR]

Just jumping off your post. Don't believe this for a minute. It was a lie to cover for the comment on the 48hrs Interview. When, in her words, she was completely innocent. I wonder why JM chose to use her excuse in this testimony?

MOO

To make the jurors think of the same thought Juan did when he crossed her on this point ... Can you IMAGINE how painful it must have been for Travis to be stabbed 30 times and have your throat slit almost to the point decapitation when she couldn't even handle a freaking paper cut?

 

[LinasK]

BBM

Yes, just like telling Det Flores that she would beg for the DP if she hurt TA.

Boy would that have been sweet if Juan had brought that in today, maybe he's saving it for his closing??? He did get in "No Jury Will Convict Me".

 

[Mindmatters]

Yes. Unless JM shows me that people with BPD can somehow keep from doing things people with BPD apparently have no choice but to do: devaluing people, extreme emotions, etc.

Nali, I totally get where you are coming from but JM and Dr D will make sure the jurors know there are millions of people with BPD (even those who are untreated) that do not resort to killing the people they have repeatedly invalidated throughout their lifetime--yes they manipulate and scheme against them and make their lives a living hell but not murder them.

She murdered someone, attempted to blame the victim for her killing him, then murdered all he had left which was his memory and reputation, tormented his family and loved ones with revolting lies, blamed everything that happened in her life on someone else, faked being a victim of domestic violence, cleverly schemed to get others to lie in court for her, and then refused to be remorseful or take any responsibility for her actions. This intelligent, attractive, sexually charged, and cunning woman had complete control over everything, herself, TA and the decision she made to end another person's life.

 

[Wing Ding]

This makes me sad...TA who could contribute soooo much to life is gone forever and the world is left with HER. Not a fair trade.

For sure. And to think that there were four jurors in the last trial who believed Jodi's life was more valuable to them than Travis'. :shakehead:

 

[grammieto5]

Well it’s a very good thing this jury does not have to depend on getting their information from tweets. They hear the complete questions and answers.

 

[ziggy]

Hi, Ziggy. The defense is not limited to the mitigating circumstances listed in the statute--see bold & red by me above.

Thank you for clarifying. Will edit post.

 

[LinasK]

I believe you can in fact be committed, but not for very long. But a responsible adult would know there is something wrong or they're having a bad spell and would go for help. There are suicide hotlines, BPD forums, specialized therapists. You can go to the emergency room and they can coordinate with your mental health team. You can be given medication that will work quickly. But JA did none of this. I don't think her parents did either, even though Matt told them to. If her parents had called a hotline, they would have been helped with a plan of action.

People can't help it if they're born with a wonky brain or their brain chemistry goes on the fritz, but they can be taught to recognize when it's an issue and how to address it. The exceptions to this, I suppose, would be in the category of non compos mentis (e.g. with dementia), or physically ill (e.g. from cancer in the brain), developmentally impaired, or generally not able to distinguish right from wrong because of an organic issue (e.g. schizophrenia).

Jodi was responsible for getting help. She didn't. She actively resisted it.

In California (different for other states- think it's the Baker Act in Florida), it's called being 5150'd, which is the Police code for it. Someone will call LE and they will cuff them and personally escort them by ambulance to a Psych Hospital for a 72-Hour emergency hold. The person must be a danger to themselves or others. I've personally witnessed it on more than one occasion. I think Jodi's family and Matt knew her threats weren't serious so noone bothered to call for a 5150 for her.

 

[~ Amy ~]

If she really wanted to off herself , she would of have did it the day she killed Travis. She chose to go grind Ryan. She uses the suicide card as one of her many manipulation tools.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

...let me add one more thing. She choose to murder Travis is a very personal heinous painful way....ala her favorite movies where the hero was some knife/sword wielding ninga. So she was not so far off with her ninga tale...as she was the ninga. REVENGE was the word. Revenge for daring to expose her to everyone and revenge for finally saying a definitive NO to her.

It's hard to claim self defense or snapped with a gun and knife in the bathroom. I hope the jury keeps that in mind. And I hope they think of Jodi nicking herself and stopped because it was so painful and when she slaughtered Travis and it was a whole hell of a lot more painful to him. The little I was going to kill my self grows old. I did noticed that Jodi said the guard would throw her in a padded cell, but when she was on the stand she said she'd be naked in that padded cell. AND RS said he wasn't concerned about Jodi killing herself in jail.

 

[TexMex]

Yet Arizona has put women on Death Row before 3x, and one of them by Juan-Wendy Andriano!!! Also white & Female, not old.

Maybe AZ should send her to Texas death row. Texas has executed 3 females in the past 18 months. Just got a news alert that a male was executed tonight.
If a state has a death penalty it should be used

 

[katydid23]

But I'm sure JA thinks she is perfectly normal. It's kind of like how things are where you grew up seems normal and everywhere else seems weird. She probably thought she was the normal one and everybody else was against her. To a point anyway.

I am not sure about that. She even admitted to TA that she acts out physically. And she KNEW she was lying in her phony journal. She did not think that was normal. She knew it was deceitful. I think that people say that those with BPD often learn to mirror 'normal' emotional behavior by mimicing others. That would mean they KNOW they are not normal themselves, imo.

 

[Hope4More]

That is the way I feel. I have always wanted the death penalty for JA from the time I learned the facts of the case because she really deserves nothing less. LWOP would be too good for JA and would allow her to gather more enablers when she is put in GP at some point in time. After the last two days of testimony I am more convinced than ever before that she indeed deserves death. I hope the jury has the courage to give it to her despite her being a female.

This is truly one of the most macabre heinous murders I have kept up with in many years. Even to say it is overkill really doesn't define how evil and perverse it truly was. Unbelievable cruelty to the extreme.

Nothing changed for me concerning the BPD for Dr. DeMarte had already diagnosed her as having a BPD in the prior trial. As far as I can remember none of the prior jury bought the excuse she was mentally ill even though KN mentioned that in his closing........not even the ones that couldn't vote for death, iirc.

And of course most of us already knew about all of her other behaviors with past boyfriends so that wasn't a new revelation either. It was revealing though when DD put it altogether succinctly and revealed a picture of why she is so angry, aggressive, assertive, and dangerous.

Now all the smut that came in from her own family members against her was rather intriguing to say the least but not a shocker. I have always felt JA has put a lot of people through hell even from a young age and that seems to be the case and why no family member testified in her behalf.

All day I've been trying to hear this testimony from a juror's POV. Jurors obviously don't know what we know about any aspect of this. Today was the first day in the entire retrial (other than her bewildering turn on the stand) that testimony focused squarely on who she is, all day long.

Hearing DM today pull it altogether as BPD was very powerful to me. I can't imagine that it wasn't for the jury. This jury is hearing way way more than the first about the obsessive odd scary stalker JA , and they've been given the BPD context to consider for her behavior.

I think the average person would think she sounds nuts. Whether mitigating nuts or evil nuts is a different question.....

 

[LinasK]

If she really wanted to off herself , she would of have did it the day she killed Travis. She chose to go grind Ryan. She uses the suicide card as one of her many manipulation tools.

She's too narcissistic to ever off herself.

 

[bettybaby00]

True, and because a large segment of our society has been brainwashed to believe men can't or aren't victims of DV, partcularly the men themselves.

This is in fact a huge issue. I think men also fail to consider how violent and dangerous a woman like JA can be. And that's also a conditioning/societal "norm" issue.

 

[LinasK]

Maybe AZ should send her to Texas death row. Texas has executed 3 females in the past 18 months. Just got a news alert that a male was executed tonight.
If a state has a death penalty it should be used

Can we send 'ya Scott Peterson???