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

[MidwestMama]

I know you aren't asking me however, what that juror stated...in my opinion, is not proper mitigation to allow her to live. Many people are verbally and emotionally abused and do not kill, especially in such a horrific and cruel way.

And that is exactly what JSS was instructing them on.
Each juror has to decide what it mitigating to THEM.
They do not have to agree on which item is mitigating.
It could be fact (a) is mitigating to me, fact (c) is mitigating to you and that another juror feels there are NO mitigating facts.

That is what makes this stage so difficult - you cannot PROVE to other jurors that fact (c) is mitigating - it is a personal decision, a personal opinion. Each juror may feel differently on what counts as mitigating. This is why it would become obvious relatively quickly that they were deadlocked. No hope of whipping out a piece of evidence to convince others, it is a personal decision you have to come to.

As difficult as it is to see justice delayed for Travis and those that love him, IMO, the jury did exactly as they were told.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

I think that when she said in her speech..

" It was the worse thing I could have imagined myself doing.. " She then corrected and said, " In fact I could not imagine myself ever doing this" That was the truth. I think she did imagine it ahead of time. I think that she planned this and that was the proof. IT was a slip of her tongue but a true fact statement.

I think all along she has told the truth in snap shots. What she said about Travis during the ninja attack, I bet those things he said and did was what really happened.

I am glad she will be on lock down at least for awhile.

 

[mollyf]

If you watch the video he says VERBALLY abusive. He does not say he thinks Travis was physically abusive. I think it is important to point that out that distinction.

It is important. Thanks. Ugh. Verbally abusive is a lot less abusive than having someone you thought was a friend blindside you in the shower during a surprise visit and murder you violently 3 different ways. I can't fathom how they were unable to agree. I appreciate their service and wish them no ill, but how could they leave it like this? Sorry, I just feel very surprised and disappointed. Months and months of trial. Hours deliberating penalty, leaving it like this. Sorry.

That poor family. This is brutal.

 

[Jetaime]

Didn't they deliberate for a few hours before the note on Wed? Wouldn't they have taken an initial vote at the time, just to see where everyone was. At that point, that's where the question came from and saw they had work to do.

We don't know a whole lot of what happened in that room. Who's to say the initial vote wasn't different (6-6 or something else). Who's to say there were more for life than DP and over the course of deliberations it slowly started leaning DP. We just don't know.

I pretty much said the same thing in a post yesterday. They must have taken an initial vote - realized just how split they were & just needed some guidance... what to do "if"...

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - SIDEBAR #5- Arias/Alexander forum

(Wow, so many errors in my post. And I was sober lol)

 

[Hopeful One]

Morning HO!
It's 5:30 Am here! WTH am I doing up?

Here's The Jury foreman interview in case it hasn't been posted yet.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jodi-ari...-gma-how-they-reached-verdict-and-then-didnt/

Thanks, frenn!

No idea why I was up so early either. Not like me at all!

 

[Stripehaven]

Foreman said he could not believe A YOUNG WOMAN.had done this...................REALLY???
wont say what i really feel on here my opinions of him an the rest are not allowed.

He said that was his first impression at the very beginning of the trial, and I actually think he meant that somewhat rhetorically. In any case, he obviously did come to believe it.

 

[Hope4More]

I hate that I have to agree with you, but I do, totally.

Even my husband, who is extremely law and order, has doubts about Jodi ever being sentenced to death, because her victim is not "sympathetic" enough. Travis derived a great deal of sexual pleasure from her, and used her for those purposes (although JA claims it was mutual, I don't believe she used him for sex, I think she was obsessed and would have loved to have married him). She was sexual kryptonite to him, and that is completely understandable given his age and his religious background. I don't fault Travis at all. Jodi took advantage of TA's vulnerability in this regard, and used it to ingratiate herself with him.

For some reason, for hubby, this taints Travis, and gives Jodi an "understandable" but not quite acceptable motivation for her act(s) of murder, and diminishes her culpability only to the extent where she should not be given the death penalty, but instead life in prison without parole.

Please don't hate on me, because I fiercely disagree with him. Just as Caylee could have been my own daughter, and didn't do anything to deserve her fate, I believe Travis could have been my son, and did nothing to deserve his fate. Nothing he did or didn't do makes me feel any better about what Jodi did to him. Nothing. No sex tape, no angry text exchanges, no bitter words to her, no trying to extricate himself from her grip.

I can't identify with the feeling that some victims are more worthy of the highest (or most severe) form of justice by having their perpetrator be given the ultimate punishment. People are entitled to their own opinions on the DP (and anything else), but I can't get with the reasoning that because Travis might have treated Jodi poorly in some far-fetched scenario (more likely because she was manipulating him, he recognized it and reacted angrily to her manipulation, stalking, obsession, scamming, etc.), that JA is less worthy of receiving the DP than any other convicted PM murderer who is eligible, under the facts of the crime, for the DP.

JMO:twocents:

My husband didn't follow the trial much at all-save for having to listen to me tslk about it everyday. He had a very firm opinion early on, though, that she looked like a cheesy stripper, sounded like a manipulative brat, and that nothing Travis did to her had anything to do with why she killed him.

 

[UdbCrzy2]

I hope we have the Travis Victor Alexander Law soon. (no carp about victims without evidence ever again!)

The defense lobby is huge and I doubt that will ever happen. If that was taken away what other defense would the defense have?

I do not agree with it and I really hate it when it happens, but it happens all the time.

The defense makes the victim out to be so dangerous or (fill in the blank) that they had to kill them.

The defense does not come up with this by themselves, they are speaking for the defendant and it's their words.

 

[Hopeful One]

Being unable to decide on a sentence is one thing but believing that Travis abused JA is just....heartbreaking for me. Travis has only his reputation left....
:tears::tears:

I'm shocked that anyone believed her. I truly can't see how they could. It makes me ill.

 

[Elley Mae]

My husband didn't follow the trial much at all-save for having to listen to me tslk about it everyday. He had a very firm opinion early on, though, that she looked like a cheesy stripper, sounded like a manipulative brat, and that nothing Travis did to her had anything to do with why she killed him.

Your Husband sounds like a brilliant man.

 

[MidwestMama]

this really bothered me. chris's email was mischaracterized and he was never allowed to explain it. i would love to know why the hughes weren't able to testify and the DT was able to cherry pick from their email exchange to paint TA as a bad guy who abused his GF's. why didn't they testify????

I can't answer your question but it your post led me to this thought -

Maybe this hung jury will cause JSS to re-evaluate bending over backwards for the DT as she has thus far?
Maybe it will cause Juan to fight even harder to protect Travis' reputation from baseless accusations?
We can hope so.

 

[NinjaPoof]

Finally able to sit and watch the foreman speak. I respect their decision but I do not agree with him thinking that Jodi was actually emotionally and verbally abused by Travis. I think CMJA is like many people today. Tell them no about anything and they feel abused. So to CMJA she was abused but in the real world she was not. Sure he said some mean things to her. I think we all have had our fair share of saying things we did not really mean or have things said to us that others did not really mean. In the heat of the moment things get said.

What's NOT supposed to happen in the heat of a moment is 27 stab wounds, a slit throat and a gunshot. That's just crazed overkill. And what irks me the most is that all the while JA was screaming verbal and mental abuse, she was doing the exact thing to TA's family!!! I don't know what else defines verbal and mental torture other than repeatedly hearing about your deceased brother's (potentially untrue) private sexual habits/needs and his brutal murder. She murdered him over and over again in that courtroom and these jurors fell for it. Sad.

 

[AZWatcher]

Where can one listen to the foreman? Does anyone have a link?

Here ya go Pink
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jodi-ari...-gma-how-they-reached-verdict-and-then-didnt/

 

[EquallyDivided]

Good Morning Team Travis

As I awoke this morning one of my favorite sayings popped into my mind...'It ain't over to the fat lady sings' and she has not sung!! Yesterday was a shock, a disappointment, heartbreaking, not only to the Alexander Family, but to the Websleuth Family. But it's not over. ja sits in a concrete cell 23 hours a day...just a taste of what lies ahead for her. It's a set back but it is not a defeat. ja won nothing.

I left last night because I was upset, with the non verdict and with some of the things I saw being posted. I tried to catch up this morning and gave up lest my anger rear it's ugly head again. I saw so much that saddened me. Some people are saying it's because the jury had too many old people on the jury. Really? Are you kidding me? I saw the jury foreman on GMA this morning. It was obvious to me from his statement, the jury was indeed deadlocked from the beginning. IMO, there were 4 people who were not going to vote for the DP EVER. That is sad. But it is what it is. Like the Alexander Family we have to regroup and stand fast...and we will, just as they will. If she gets a plea for LWOP, natural life....and if that's what the State and the Family agree to, it's fine with me. As long as she never gets out. Her life is OVER..she will never kiss a boyfriend, or hold a baby, or go out to dinner or a show with friends. She will never marry, or have a child. She took these things from TRAVIS and also from herself.

We were all upset with the decision or lack of a real decision. So we voiced our frustrations as well as our disappointments. Yeah, some of us were pretty rough on this jury. But I see some members here were really UGLY to other posters. We have great MODS here who are extremely fair and have a great understanding of human nature. I am personally offended when some members start chastising other posters. Who gives you the right? Leave it to our MODS please.

For those that continually post how disgusted they are with HLN....just don't watch it. What's the big problem...just don't watch. I saw a lot of people knocking JVM for chasing down juror #9.... why not knock all the other reporters who were there as well? Juror #9 chose to walk right by all the media to a rail station. Did he think no one would notice? DUH!! JVM seems to be a whipping boy (girl)...give it a rest already!! I would love to see some other's have her passion. She is loud and abrasive at times...but no one has to watch her. Why have we become so critical and ugly?

We are amazing, passionate people. We are a family.

I hope everyone has a good holiday weekend and remember while we are with family and friends, ja is sitting in that cell all by herself.

We will keep supporting Travis' Family, no doubt about that. Let's support each other as well. Even when we disagree, let's do it without demeaning other members of 'our family.'

And a huge THANK YOU to our Websleuth Owners and MODS.

Sunny - I seem to always have the same train of thought that you do. Thank you button was not good enough!

I completely agree with your post, we will still be here, fighting the good fight and supporting the family.

I am a bit saddened that in the sentencing phase - it seems that the focus was on JA instead of Travis. I believe that the jury was fed information about JA and her 'this is your life' PowerPoint completely took the focus off of Travis. I think JM should have shown each part of the mitigators, and then tied them into the actual actions that Arias took. That's just my opinion. For example. Does the fact that she's an artist, who can also use a knife to stab a defenseless man with those same hands - does that make her an artist, or a killer? Does a recycler who has more inclination to carelessly stuff a naked, dead man into a shower to rot - a 'planet friendly' person? I would have just like each one of the mitigators to be segued into the crime itself.

I would have also liked to have seen him go after the fact that a lack criminal history doesn't mean you haven't committed a crime. It only means you haven't been caught or convicted of one. Stalking is a crime, slashing tires is a crime, hacking into protected accounts is a crime, climbing through doggy doors uninvited is a crime, staging a burglary is a crime, lying under oath is a crime, and so is murder.

 

[Hopeful One]

I hope we have the Travis Victor Alexander Law soon. (no carp about victims without evidence ever again!)

It's devastating that they could trash his character on JA's word. A proven liar. It's so unfair. Poor Travis and his family. Does it ever end???

 

[Litigatrix]

And yes, Travis list his cool and said some really rough stuff to her in roughly 2 or 3 texts/email/iM of over 82,000 in 18 months. While he said things he should not have it seems obvious it was out of character and a fit of anger and given Jodi's demeanor on the stand...probably provoked by exasperation with dealing with her.

Absolutely, she was a psycopath that was ruining his life. She stole from him, slept under his christmas tree, slashed his tires, peeked into his windows, moved to AZ uninvited, came into his home unannounced, emailed his new paramours...couple that with her smug and calm demeanor in the face of her own horrid behavior and I can only imagine first the panic and then the rage that TA felt.

I would have texted her things that were ten times worse. Heck, I want to say some of them now....

 

[Sleuth5]

She's in jail. IMO she'sll never get out of prison one way or the other. I'm sorry for the family being unable to close the door on this at this point, but she is just whistling past the graveyard now. It's just a matter of time... 23 hours a day to sit around and think about it? I'm content knowing that she stuck her foot down her throat with her stupid narcissistic interviews, and that she now realizes they will come back to haunt her down the road. I'm not jumpin' for joy, but I'm convinced justice has already been done with her conviction for aggravated murder. Let her sweat.

 

[cityslick]

That isn't what I meant and it isn't what I wrote.

My point was the cruelty aspect underlined the appropriateness of the DP. The possibility, no matter how small, of CMJA being released is what should have clicked and made the DP the only logical option.

This is a dumb question, but were they actually allowed to consider the possibility of LWP as part of determining if she deserved death? I thought they were only allowed to consider life or death.

 

[Hopeful One]

My daughter has BPD. From the time she was a baby there was no eye contact. As much as I tried to cuddle with her..Nothing. I did nurse her for 3 years but after she ate she wanted no part of me. You can never please her. If I tell her she left my car on empty she gives me a dissertation on how I once left her car on 1/4 full. If I tell her she forgot to load the dishwasher she tells me I have always been a terrible housekeeper. If I have done anything wrong it is giving in to her or coddled her out of fear. But I truly believe she was born that way.

Oh how I've missed you. I hope all is well.

:hug:

 

[DeAnnaMisrahi]

I hate that I have to agree with you, but I do, totally.

Even my husband, who is extremely law and order, has doubts about Jodi ever being sentenced to death, because her victim is not "sympathetic" enough. Travis derived a great deal of sexual pleasure from her, and used her for those purposes (although JA claims it was mutual, I don't believe she used him for sex, I think she was obsessed and would have loved to have married him). She was sexual kryptonite to him, and that is completely understandable given his age and his religious background. I don't fault Travis at all. Jodi took advantage of TA's vulnerability in this regard, and used it to ingratiate herself with him.

For some reason, for hubby, this taints Travis, and gives Jodi an "understandable" but not quite acceptable motivation for her act(s) of murder, and diminishes her culpability only to the extent where she should not be given the death penalty, but instead life in prison without parole.

Please don't hate on me, because I fiercely disagree with him. Just as Caylee could have been my own daughter, and didn't do anything to deserve her fate, I believe Travis could have been my son, and did nothing to deserve his fate. Nothing he did or didn't do makes me feel any better about what Jodi did to him. Nothing. No sex tape, no angry text exchanges, no bitter words to her, no trying to extricate himself from her grip.

I can't identify with the feeling that some victims are more worthy of the highest (or most severe) form of justice by having their perpetrator be given the ultimate punishment. People are entitled to their own opinions on the DP (and anything else), but I can't get with the reasoning that because Travis might have treated Jodi poorly in some far-fetched scenario (more likely because she was manipulating him, he recognized it and reacted angrily to her manipulation, stalking, obsession, scamming, etc.), that JA is less worthy of receiving the DP than any other convicted PM murderer who is eligible, under the facts of the crime, for the DP.

JMO:twocents:

This is my problem with the DP and always has been. There is no balance to the way it is given out. Taking a life is taking a life. The perpetrator and victim's characters shouldn't matter unless it had a DIRECT impact on the murder.