Verdict Watch 05/04/ and 05/05/2013

[Rocco]

If the juror's follow the instructions given to them, they should arrive at first degree murder.

IIRC, they were told to first consider first degree murder. They can only consider lesser charges if they cannot reach a unanimous vote of the higher charge. Martinez laid out for them how the crime fits both premeditated and felony murder under the first degree charges. He did this not once, but twice.

If the jury understands with the legal definition of premeditation, which basically means time to reflect, intent to kill can be formed in seconds. Travis's injuries alone meet the criteria of premeditated murder, regardless of the sequence of events prior to the attack.

1) Gunshot wound to the head- whether this came first or last, a gunshot to the head can kill. While JA said that she did not intend to shoot him because she thought the gun was not loaded, she did not stop. Her versions of this prior to trial indicated that this happened in the closet; on the witness stand, she changed this to the bathroom.

2) A change of weapons to a knife which she uses to stab him 27 times, including a fatal wound to the heart, defensive wounds to the hands and excessive wounds to the back, meaning that he was not a threat to her when she inflicted these wounds. The change of weapons is significant in that it shows reflection.

3). The chasing down of Travis in the hallway and the slashing of his throat furthers the premeditative aspect of the crime. Chasing him requires reflection, as does the switch from stabbing to slashing. To slash one's throat is a completely different action than stabbing, again requiring reflection, not reflex.

There is an excellent previous post here where the OP puts forth a terrific argument for first degree murder under the unlikely assumption that JA's version of events of that day is true and still arrives at the conclusion of first degree murder. I agree 100%; regardless of what happened, the three distinct set of wounds and how/where they were inflicted fully meets the legal definition of first degree murder.

In order for this not to have been first degree murder, JA would have had to be gravely injured by Travis in this event, in which case excessive force would then be considered justified. In reality, I find it doubtful that someone gravely injured would be able to deeply slash another person's throat from ear to ear.

The only thing that concerned me is Nurmi introducing "she snapped" without Martinez clarifying this. Nurmi's use of snapped is not the same as the legal definition of crime of passion.

But in order for them to even get to 'snapped', they'd first have to rule out 1st degree and then rule out 2nd degree and then move on down to the next option. They'll never get to the 'snapped' option.

 

[G&AMom]

I wonder how much sedation JA is requiring this weekend. lease: Not much light at the end of the tunnel she is looking thru. :stormingmad:

I would guess for sure she is on suicide watch.

Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the train coming.

 

[Just Sailing Thru]

I really believe that after a Guilty verdict of Premed ..that the suicide watch should begin.. Would not suprise me to see her,JA, attempt to take the Final Exit, proclaiming TA, JM, and the "rest who did me wrong" did "cause this" JMO

 

[scandi]

Hi, I am very surprised the jury isn't deliberating over the weekend!

Is there any discussion on how long posters think it will be before the jury reaches their verdict?


WHOOPS! I just found the poll ;}

 

[Mrs G Norris]

She said it. Yep.

If she asks for the Death Penalty now I'd say she was trying to manipulate the jury into giving her LWOP. I don't care what she says .. put her to death. Every single word out of her mouth is a manipulative lie designed to hurt as many people as possible and to continue her own ability to play her little games. Put her down, in the meantime isolation is the only way to stop her.

Also, Donovan .. come on girl! Enough.

 

[Truth Detector]

I wonder how much sedation JA is requiring this weekend. lease: Not much light at the end of the tunnel she is looking thru. :stormingmad:

I would guess for sure she is on suicide watch.

If true, Sheriff Joe is mistaken.

The watch this one needs to be kept on is homicide, not suicide.

 

[Rocco]

If true, Sheriff Joe is mistaken.

The watch this one needs to be kept on is homicide, not suicide.

:floorlaugh:

 

[cubbeegirl]

I have a very good, peaceful feeling that the jury is coming back with Murder one, Monday. I have never seen so much evidence in a case, ever. If a jury cannot find this defendant guilty of murder one, with this much evidence.... then they would have required the murder to be on tape.

I like the way these jury instructions were made plain both by the judge and then by Mr. Martinez. I like the firmly convinced threshold. It is a lot different than the chart Cheney Mason made that set out beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury took him to mean, beyond ANY doubt. This will not be the situation in this case. I love that the jury instructions say that rarely ever in life is there anything one may be one hundred percent certain of and that is not the requirement.

I loved when Mr. Martinez explained in detail the part about what a reasonable person would do. He said something to the effect of....it is not the defendant. They ( the defense ) want you to think it means what would she do. The defendant is not a reasonable person, she is a liar and a killer, what it means is what would a REASONABLE person do.
He just does not miss an opportunity!
http://www.youtube.com/user/CrimeTimeVids/videos
One of Juan Martinez' cases had the jury come back in fifteen minutes. I cannot even get a glass of milk and pop-tart ready that fast. He has been doing this day in day out for twenty five years. If he feels good....I feel Tony the Tiger grrrrrreat!!!

When the judge and then Juan were laying it all out for the jury, I felt very confident....I also felt a wave of sadness that no one laid it out for those twelve jurors in that other case that shall not be named.....I remember Cheney Mason had that little chart ....sadly, it worked ... I shall say no more...

 

[Tuba]

gcharlie, any chance we will ever see the Arias diary entry for June 1, 2008?

 

[cubbeegirl]

If she asks for the Death Penalty now I'd say she was trying to manipulate the jury into giving her LWOP. I don't care what she says .. put her to death. Every single word out of her mouth is a manipulative lie designed to hurt as many people as possible and to continue her own ability to play her little games. Put her down, in the meantime isolation is the only way to stop her.

Also, Donovan .. come on girl! Enough.

Agreed...the faster the better IMO

 

[MidwestMama]

I really believe that after a Guilty verdict of Premed ..that the suicide watch should begin.. Would not suprise me to see her,JA, attempt to take the Final Exit, proclaiming TA, JM, and the "rest who did me wrong" did "cause this" JMO

I don't believe she would actually do it. She thinks too much of herself. Remember the other supposed attempt? IF it really happened she stopped because it "stung".

That being said. She may threaten it because it will get her the attention she craves so badly.

 

[Colt46]

Hi, I am very surprised the jury isn't deliberating over the weekend!

Is there any discussion on how long posters think it will be before the jury reaches their verdict?


WHOOPS! I just found the poll ;}

AZ can't afford to have security on week-ends.
Yesterday, Beth Karas said that Juan got a guilty verdict in less than 15 minutes in another DP case! He is a wizard!!!

 

[borndem]

Is there a time limit for the witnesses that speak during the Mitigation phase? If JA speaks, she doesn't have 18 days again does she?

Somehow, Zuri, I don't think that will be a problem... Somebody in the courtroom would proclaim her guilty, sentence her to death, & kill her right there in the court room. Case Closed. lol.

 

[marlap]

Hi, I am very surprised the jury isn't deliberating over the weekend!

Is there any discussion on how long posters think it will be before the jury reaches their verdict?


WHOOPS! I just found the poll ;}

I think they didn't have the option to deliberate over the weekend because no funds for baillifs, overtime, etc.

 

[MidwestMama]

How wonderful!!! :congrats:
:bdscroll:
artyguy2::rubberducky:
:juanettes::juanettes::juanettes::juanettes:

HURRAH! Blessings to you all!

 

[TaraJ27]

If the juror's follow the instructions given to them, they should arrive at first degree murder.

IIRC, they were told to first consider first degree murder. They can only consider lesser charges if they cannot reach a unanimous vote of the higher charge. Martinez laid out for them how the crime fits both premeditated and felony murder under the first degree charges. He did this not once, but twice.

If the jury understands with the legal definition of premeditation, which basically means time to reflect, intent to kill can be formed in seconds. Travis's injuries alone meet the criteria of premeditated murder, regardless of the sequence of events prior to the attack.

1) Gunshot wound to the head- whether this came first or last, a gunshot to the head can kill. While JA said that she did not intend to shoot him because she thought the gun was not loaded, she did not stop. Her versions of this prior to trial indicated that this happened in the closet; on the witness stand, she changed this to the bathroom.

2) A change of weapons to a knife which she uses to stab him 27 times, including a fatal wound to the heart, defensive wounds to the hands and excessive wounds to the back, meaning that he was not a threat to her when she inflicted these wounds. The change of weapons is significant in that it shows reflection.

3). The chasing down of Travis in the hallway and the slashing of his throat furthers the premeditative aspect of the crime. Chasing him requires reflection, as does the switch from stabbing to slashing. To slash one's throat is a completely different action than stabbing, again requiring reflection, not reflex.

There is an excellent previous post here where the OP puts forth a terrific argument for first degree murder under the unlikely assumption that JA's version of events of that day is true and still arrives at the conclusion of first degree murder. I agree 100%; regardless of what happened, the three distinct set of wounds and how/where they were inflicted fully meets the legal definition of first degree murder.

In order for this not to have been first degree murder, JA would have had to be gravely injured by Travis in this event, in which case excessive force would then be considered justified. In reality, I find it doubtful that someone gravely injured would be able to deeply slash another person's throat from ear to ear.

The only thing that concerned me is Nurmi introducing "she snapped" without Martinez clarifying this. Nurmi's use of snapped is not the same as the legal definition of crime of passion.

When Juan pointed out that the instructions require you to start with 1st degree and work your way down- not the other way around- I realized I'd never heard anyone say that. If you go into it thinking about M2 or MS first I can see how that could cloud the decision making.

I'm also dealing with my past jury PTSD by reminding myself these jurors come from a county that has elected Sheriff Joe 5(6?) times! Sheriff Joe wouldn't last one term in Pinellas County so I hope the final 12 represent the majority. By their questions it appears they take this seriously & have been really focused so... Fingers crossed!

 

[pferrin]

She was forced to move away though. She didn't have a job or a place to live anymore. I think Jodi wanted Travis to love her and marry her. I think she figured that sending sexual pictures of herself and Travis to Mimi could end up breaking up TA and Mimi' relationship, yes, but it could also lead to Travis getting angry at her, even start to hate her even more and as a result of that not wanting to be with her at all anymore = so no marriage. That's the reason, that I could think of, that she wouldn't have tried to break them up by sending Mimi emails. After all, it didn't work when she did the same to Andrews, she didn't get TA back. I think she changed her M.O because of that. Seduce him into accepting me again, dating me again, show him how good I am for him, how nice I am, etc, etc instead of acting like an evil stalkish jealous woman.

Yes didn't she move back to her grandparents? She didn't have a pot to pis$ in or a window to throw it out of.
Yet she continued to try to manipulate Travis. She wanted him to believe she had a stalker...so he would feel sorry for her and bring her back to Mesa so he could protect her.

When that didn't work ...the recorded phone sex calls...IMO so she could blackmail him.

Her behavior never really changed. ..she continued to manipulate. When he wanted nothing else to do with her she started planning his murder. If she could've found another Mormon man to take care of her she prolly would have stayed in Mesa ...they all knew what she was by then.

Travis didnt realize how dangerous she was. IMO

 

[Just Sailing Thru]

Midwest Mama..would go something like this....Ouch...ouch...dang the pain...enough blood yet??? ouch ..ouch

 

[concernedmother]

Travis was a good catch for a girl like Jodi. I think she became obsessed with him and began plotting along time before the murder, ways to blackmail him and hang on to him. Maybe she wasnt plotting murder when this sex tape was made but she definitely did it for a reason to hold over his head. Not knowing what was actually happening when this was taped and what Jodi's role playing was, this tape is awful with the 12 year old comments and that concerns me. If a juror cant look at the reason behind that tape to consider she was setting him up then for something I think there could be some doubt that Jodi wasnt lying about everything and buy into Travis had a dark side. While I see this case as nothing less than murder one I wouldnt put money into a bet how this will play out. I think this is a smart bunch of jurors so if there happens to be one that cant see this I hope the others can lay it all out for them.

This is a fatal attraction case. Nothing else.

 

[kaRN]

Re: sedation over the weekend.....I suspect NONE..Remember JA " thinks the world revolves around her and only inferior" people would NOT believe her"....Sedation will start during mitigation IMO

She'll need it because she doesn't seem to have any mitigating factors of note per this wonderful link posted earlier http://www.azcourts.gov/ccsguide/Home.aspx