SIDEBAR #8- Arias/Alexander forum

[aa9511]

Great points.

But my point is still, why not bring in all the testimony that dealt with the alleged verbal abuse? And discuss it in context of possibilities, instead of having some jurors simply accept that this is what it actually signified?

And yeah, WHAT about her lies of pedophilia and physical abuse? The instructions have always been, if a witness is is not credible to you, you can dismiss the rest of the testimony. What happened to that in the penalty phase?

I agree. I am very sorry and I don't mean to put down the jurors, but they obviously did not thoroughly discuss the abuse. I don't know if this goes back to what's already been discussed on here - which is their way of deliberating. I don't know what it was. But IMO, they should have thoroughly discussed all abuse, emotional, physical, and verbal, and then AS A GROUP decided whehter there was SUBSTANTIAL evidence to support them. And if there wasn't ....then it should have been rejected BY THE GROUP. Meaning, let's say they came to the conclusion that there was NO VERBAL ABUSE, then that should not have been allowed to be a mitigating factor.

In the end, they should have had a list of mitigating factors that they all as a group decided there was enough evidence to be listed as mitigating factor. And THEN each person individually decide what weight to give each factor.

I think the jury did not understand the instructions in the mitigation phase.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal on whether a judge improperly allowed prosecutors to seek a death sentence for Jodi Arias in the 2008 stabbing and shooting of her former boyfriend.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/arizona-supreme-court-denies-review-arias-case

 

[kscornfed]

I am old too. I am 60. But my parents are in their 80's. And they thought Travis was abusive because of his words to her. I gave up trying to convince them differently.

My mom got whacked by the wooden spoon and did not see it as abuse. But some older people might have actually felt abused by corporal punishment, who knows.

even if you don't like the language, there's a context to what he said. and i'd never label anyone 'abusive' based on one text message. i just wouldn't, and i don't think it makes sense to do that.
seems like JA is benefiting from a one-time blow-up from a guy who i see, if anything, as EXTREMELY patient.
hell, after listening to her blather on the stand, i was calling her much worse than he did after about an hour. i don't know how he kept his cool for as long as he did, frankly.

if i had killed every guy who ever got pissed at me and yelled awful things at me in anger during an argument, i'd have a string of dead bodies behind me.

 

[elementary]

Hope this isn't a repeat, but Tara says she thinks Travis was so mad because he found out that Jodi planned to blackmail him with the sex tape.

In the big scheme of things, I think this is the most probable. This was major ammunition for her, to expose him; heck, she had no problem slaughtering him, so who could possibly think that she would use anything other than massive artillery to try to get him back in line? And what would make him crazier than that?

In his shoes, I would feel betrayed and beside myself. It is so insupportable, there are no words. I am glad he was willing to expose her to his friends, even at the cost of himself. He didn't give in to her threats. I imagine his pain was unspeakable.

 

[TXProfessional]

Question:
So, does the system work? Are you happy that you were a juror?

Answer:
yes the system works! It was a very long, emotional process but I am happy I got to do this!Met alot of great people

 

[RR0004]

don't forget when mom said that jodi like to complain she was raised w/ abuse but it wasn't true - it was her imagination - paraphrasing - that really gets rid of the formans mitigating factor - no parent abuse and show she lies about abuse imo

But, she also talks about her having mental problems, so IMO...it's a crapshoot.

 

[elementary]

Also, in her rambling explanation, she made it sound like Travis was waiting for her to come help him with the decorations because he needed help putting them in the attic. So she was doing him this big favor.

Travis had two male roommates. I highly doubt that he was relying upon her to
'help him' lift the boxes into the attic. JMO

According to Det Flores there was nothing in the attic. In essence, it was not used for storage.

 

[kscornfed]

OMG this just blows me away....from the Wendy Murphy article linked above. Explains why Jodi's family did not testify on her behalf in the sentencing phase.

By refusing to put Arias’ friends and family on the stand, defense attorneys knew they might lose the battle but would likely win the war if the jury voted for death. The Ninth Circuit’s predisposition to reverse death penalty verdicts when mitigation witnesses are not called was a near guarantee that Arias would never be put to death. This remains a viable strategic option given that a new jury will be impaneled to decide the death penalty issue in July, which means we can expect Arias’ family members again to sit silent instead of begging for Jodi’s life. Perhaps the prosecutor should consider calling Jodi’s mother to the stand, if only to expose the strategy and create a record that would at least make it more difficult for the Ninth Circuit to indulge the nonsense.

Refusing to call mitigation witnesses may eventually save Jodi Arias’ life, but the author of the article below notes that it isn’t ethical. The recent evolution of this ugly strategy has inspired legal scholars to urge that such lawyers be reported to the bar and sanctioned for the unethical practice of law, though since defense attorneys control most licensing boards, don’t hold your breath. Chances are much better lawyers who pull this stunt will win awards because in the American legal system, a lack of ethics in criminal defense work isn’t punished so long as the ends justify the means. Which begs an important question for the rest of us: Is saving one psychopath’s life really worth the loss of integrity for an entire legal system, and who do we hold accountable if the answer is “no?”

well, there's a nice little loophole for them, huh? this is really lowdown. it seems to me if your mother sits in court every day and your attorneys don't call her, that should not be a 'get out of the DP free' card. and lying about having other witnesses who were 'threatened' and couldn't appear is total BS too.
ethics my butt.

 

[RR0004]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal on whether a judge improperly allowed prosecutors to seek a death sentence for Jodi Arias in the 2008 stabbing and shooting of her former boyfriend.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/arizona-supreme-court-denies-review-arias-case

Wow...that motion was a stretch.

 

[polleypockets]

But, she also talks about her having mental problems, so IMO...it's a crapshoot.

i know, but what has bugged me id the foreman said that she was normal until she met TA and then her life changed trajectory, the interviews show she wasn't normal b4 TA imo

 

[TXProfessional]

Ha. Her reply to that 'disappeared' and WAT asked it again. She then said:

Tara Kelley ‏@tarakelley320 12s

@WildAboutTrial for some reason I'm not seeing the ? But it was hard listening to the sex talk over and over and Nurmi liked to talk #17WAT

Yeah, I was a little confused because the answer I posted was the next response that popped up but then seconds later it was gone!!! And it took a while for the second (and one you posted above) response to come up.

So Gauntlet, did she answer that way then change her answer? tia

 

[gngr~snap]

In the big scheme of things, I think this is the most probable. This was major ammunition for her, to expose him; heck, she had no problem slaughtering him, so who could possibly think that she would use anything other than massive artillery to try to get him back in line? And what would make him crazier than that?

In his shoes, I would feel betrayed and beside myself. It is so insupportable, there are no words. I am glad he was willing to expose her to his friends, even at the cost of himself. He didn't give in to her threats. I imagine his pain was unspeakable.

He sure did expose her didn't he?
RIP Travis.

and to think she thought she could get away with killing him by using her tricks on LE... and trashing Travis.

She is still trying... Thankfully she has been exposed and I don't see anyone in the Arizona judicial system on her side.



Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MidwestMama]

Thank you so much to those pasting tweets! I'm not proud to admit I just don't get twitter. I can't get the order of it ... Can't tell how to decipher which questions she's responding to. I feel so f'kin old.

AZ maybe this will help?

First, on twitter, the most recent response is on top, so you have to start at the bottom to follow a conversation.
Then the first name in a tweet (I put them in blue) is the one commenting. (tweet is FROM this person.)
The second @name (red) is the person receiving the comment/question.
So go to the bottom and move up and see if that helps :seeya:

"Navy"]Tara Kelley @tarakelley320 [/COLOR]

@WildAboutTrial yes the system works! It was a very long, emotional process but I am happy I got to do this!Met alot of great people #17WAT


6m
wildabouttrial @WildAboutTrial
@tarakelley320 So, does the system work? Are you happy that you were a juror? #17WAT

 

[MidwestMama]

Hi TxP....the last tweet I saw in the exchange was the one where Tara is talking about the Hello Kitty purse? After that it's not pulling up anything for me....do u know what happened, or where can i get the second part of the interview?

scroll up. somehow you got to earlier tweets.hth

 

[my_tee_mouse]

I'm sorry, I don't understand.

Do you have dictionary citations for the word "deliberate" that are different from the one I cited? Specifically any that use the word "sway?"

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Jury+deliberation

the act of considering, discussing, and, hopefully, reaching a conclusion, such as a jury's discussions, voting and decision-making.

Nope, don't see "sway" in there!!!

 

[gngr~snap]

According to Det Flores there was nothing in the attic. In essence, it was not used for storage.

From what I have heard no one in AZ. uses an attic for storage. -too hot. I think all the jurors knew this story was bull hockey.

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[RR0004]

i know, but what has bugged me id the foreman said that she was normal until she met TA and then her life changed trajectory, the interviews show she wasn't normal b4 TA imo

I agree that she wasn't normal, but if you listen to dad, he says something about her having issues for the past year and a half to 2 years (and maybe longer than that). That was about the time that she knew Travis. Too close to call, IMO. Anyway, IIRC, the tapes were found to be too prejudicial and weren't going to be allowed in. I don't think ANYTHING would have swayed the foreman...especially after hearing a comment like that.

 

[mck16]

At this moment I'm so thankful that the jury got it right in the death verdict for the piece of slime that bought, raped and murdered Shaniya Davis. I will forever remember the photo of the murdering rapist holding this tiny little girl at the elevator at the hotel where he raped her. Jury took 39 minutes to come back with a death sentence.

http://fayobserver.com/articles/2013/05/29/1260002?sac=fo.local

Oh that was so horrible. I cannot forget it either. Just made me so physically sick. I still cry. Glad for the DP. jmo

 

[MidwestMama]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal on whether a judge improperly allowed prosecutors to seek a death sentence for Jodi Arias in the 2008 stabbing and shooting of her former boyfriend.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/arizona-supreme-court-denies-review-arias-case

That was just a "hail Mary" in my opinion anyway. DT has to try everything so they aren't accused of ineffective counsel.

 

[elementary]

If this was my family I might be asking if we didn't want to take our closure now and drop the second DP trial. It's months and months of more stress and even then,t here is no guaranantee. And DP "closure" doesn't come for years and many many appeals. If at all.

This article says 2 out of 3 DPs are overturned on appeal and only 18% of those retried get the DP again. So half of those who get death get it overturned for good.

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/061200death-penalty.html

Walking away from that evil thing and saying "we're done with you" might be the worst punishment next to DP. She thinks of herself as part of that family in her sick sick way, the grandmother comments during allocution showed me that.

Not being personally involved it's easier to say "is this really worth it?" but only the family can answer that.

But it's not our respective families. So far, the Alexanders are adamant for the DP. I am with them. If they change their minds, I am with them.

I don't think there is 'closure'. Anyone who goes through trauma/loss knows there is no closure. You live with the hole, you live with the outcome. In this case, at least you could feel relieved that this abomination no longer scourges the earth. That's something, IMO. And victory. Unlike letting it go for the sake of some pop psych 'closure'.