VERDICT WATCH - Sentencing of Jodi Arias - Retrial Day 44, Part 2

[neesaki]

To order this drink, you stay reclining in your seat and just yell towards the bar. :biggrin:

Oh, that's funny. Just lean back, sprawl out, yell "Objection" and the bartender comes running. Sounds about right.

 

[east2west]

Welcome to Perryville!

 

[lithgow1]

I still don't understand why JA was not allowed to be questioned by Juan. She got on the stand and testified but he could not cross her. I don't get that.

AZlawyer explained it to me (and by proxy everyone else) at the end of the last thread. She refused to go back on the stand and because of this Juan had the option to have her testimony struck from the record. He declined and AZl thinks it was because by leaving it in there he could address aspects of it in his later questioning of others and also in his closing address. Think that is pretty much it in a nutshell.

 

[MaLou]

I like Chris and Skye. They come across as utterly sincere and honest but were caught up in the manipulative machinations of an evil sociopath, to come out the other side suffering the loss of very dear friend. They probably went through long dark hours wishing they had done more and perhaps feeling in some small way responsible, but eventually coming to terms with the fact that a very dark force had entered their lives and there was very little they could have done about it.

I agree. I watched the interview and she is very genuine and sincere. Obviously she and her husband are experiencing a lot of agony over all of this and feel compelled to explain themselves.

 

[wendiesan]

In the last thread, a question was raised about the Alexander family being inconvenienced (or treated impolitely) by JA supporters. When I went back, I couldn't find that post. IIRC, the post's author suggested there might be a connection between the courtroom courtesy and the sealed hearing.
Does anyone else remember reading that post? Thanks.

 

[wendiesan]

Given the subject matter most often raised by the DT, this might be appropriate courtesy of http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~udani/cocktail.html


Slide Your Thigh

Qty.
Ingredients
2/3 oz. Suntory Lena Banana Liqueur
2/3 oz. Midori
2/3 oz. Creme de Cacao
2 oz. Cream

 

[Meemaw12]

A lovely tribute to Travis and his family

Made me cry, such a great loss

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-JAQMV26TiQ


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[WhoaIsMe]

Interesting, we could also have drinks named after major players in this trial... Juan's Margarita ? Wonder what kind of drinks could be named after Nurmi and Willmott ? :thinking:

Well, this Sidebar would have to serve chicken wings in honor of Nurmi. His drink would probably contain the words three, hole and wonder, somehow.

 

[Straitfan]

I goggled this evening the number of death row inmates put to death in 2014 in the USA. You may want to check, it is a very small number and fyi a lwop inmate is less expensive to the taxpayers, so while you may all wish to waste more money, the chance if her ever being executed on death row in AZ is slim......jmo

 

[SuzDuJour]

Ok, I'm marking my spot too. Now what do I do?

You wait. Then tomorrow you try to find the new link...

 

[Straitfan]

Well, this Sidebar would have to serve chicken wings in honor of Nurmi. His drink would probably contain the words three, hole and wonder, somehow.

You do realize Nurmi is a COURT appointed Attorney, he did not choose this trail......

 

[krkrjx]

Was doing my errands today and mulling it over. I want Arias to receive the DP, but even if she doesn't there's no way she's ever coming out of Perryville alive. As someone posted succinctly yesterday (paraphrased and IIRC): either way Jodi will go into Perryville alive and come out dead.

If the jury deadlocks, IMO JSS will give Arias LWOP. Her record doesn't paint her as lenient.

JMHO

I wonder if AZ has a point system of sorts they use in sentencing. I am sure there are some kind of guidelines that judges must use when sentencing. They have some latitude but I bet certain aspects of the crime are given consideration by some kind of point system when sentencing. IOW, I do not think there is a whole lot of room for negotiating at the sentencing stage; most legal negotiation probably happens pre-trial.

I am sure mitigators are given some weight as well when judges sentence but Arias didn't clearly present any and I do not think the judge is required to search for them like the jury is.

 

[Steve44]

You do realize Nurmi is a COURT appointed Attorney, he did not choose this trail......

His strategy was not court-appointed.

 

[DebinGA]

I goggled this evening the number of death row inmates put to death in 2014 in the USA. You may want to check, it is a very small number and fyi a lwop inmate is less expensive to the taxpayers, so while you may all wish to waste more money, the chance if her ever being executed on death row in AZ is slim......jmo

That's why any wavering juror should have no qualms sending JA to death row imo - in AZ it just means isolating and preventing her from causing future harm to others.

 

[jojo87]

I believe inmates are given three pairs of panties, a bra, and three pairs of socks upon arrival, and a similar minimal amount of other clothing items, such as tee-shirts and pants. They can purchase a sweatshirt and shorts from the prison "store." They are provided a pair of shoes, but have to buy their own Nike-types from the store for mega-bucks. I read this information in the book "Slumber Party in Hell."

I was googling Perryville last night and came across this site
http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=1294
Seems to be a sort of Q and A forum for people with family in Perryville prison. Haven't had a chance to look at it too much so I don't know if it's got anything worthwhile but I'll get a peek at lunchtime.

 

[MissJ]

You do realize Nurmi is a COURT appointed Attorney, he did not choose this trail......

Ahh but he seems to relish the role....

 

[jojo87]

His strategy was not court-appointed.

It certainly wasn't it was hideous. I'm following along on the Boston Bombing thread and it's going to be interesting to compare how the defense there presents the case compared to this lot.
I realise they are totally different cases and different courts but the defenses hope in both cases is to get life instead of death.
That's not the main reason I'm following though but still.
I'm not a death penalty supporter. We don't have it and even if we did id never make the jury so my opinion on the rights and wrongs of it are irrelevant. This case has tested my views as is the Boston case. While not being a DP supporter I am a big follower of rules. If I was death qualified and following the rules in this case I would have to vote for death because I honestly see no mitigation.
Does that make any sense at all?

 

[MissJ]

It certainly wasn't it was hideous. I'm following along on the Boston Bombing thread and it's going to be interesting to compare how the defense there presents the case compared to this lot.
I realise they are totally different cases and different courts but the defenses hope in both cases is to get life instead of death.
That's not the main reason I'm following though but still.
I'm not a death penalty supporter. We don't have it and even if we did id never make the jury so my opinion on the rights and wrongs of it are irrelevant. This case has tested my views as is the Boston case. While not being a DP supporter I am a big follower of rules. If I was death qualified and following the rules in this case I would have to vote for death because I honestly see no mitigation.
Does that make any sense at all?

It makes total sense. I think some people who made the jury should never have......

 

[Hatfield]

The court minutes from 3/3/15 are still bugging the carp out of me. Did a couple of the jurors question why they didn't hear a finale about the computer *advertiser censored* & misconduct of the prosecution? John Smith never came back nor Dworkin. It was left in the air basically for them. Just guessing...again.

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/032015/m6723569.pdf

That is what concerns me the most about a lot of the gross false accusations that were allowed in this trial by the DT.

The jury holdouts that are against the DP could very well have begun to believe some of those accusations. You are so right that a lot of it was left confusing and an outstanding item for them.

I wish JSS would have made the jury clearly understand that since the DT did not prove there was any prosecurial misconduct that they must strike it from the record and not consider it at all.

These types of things were very serious accusations and I could see where the jurors may be using that right now as a small doubt for JA.

I know Juan did his best to counter the attacks but it all became a confusing mish-mash because of how the DT kept bringing up more and more outlandish accusations.

Most all of it needed clearly stricken from the record. That never happened.
Some of it went like this IMO which is a travesty right now during deliberations.

1-Nurmi is allowed to accuse Juan in front of the jury of outlandish accusations of prosecurial misconduct. As well as other shocking lies to Flores and other State witnesses.

2-Juan objects and sidebar ensues and then I think at least 1 time, the court was adjurned and just the lawyers began hashing it out in secret with the judge.

3-Then when the jury was finally brought back, the DT called another witness entirely and previous issue was never cleared up for jury. Or JSS just made the DT drop it and made them go on to another subject.

The important point is the DT was never admonished in front of the jury and a lot of the lies and outlandish accusations were left in the back of jurors mind to always wonder if there was some bit of truth to it.

I strongly feel that JSS errored in a major way here.

Here is what should have occurred IMO. IMMEDIATELY after the DT would state one of those lies, and Juan rightly objected (which he did every time),
After the sidebar, the judge needed to immediately instruct the jury to disregard what the DT just said because that has not been proven yet.

Then JSS needed to immediately sanction Nurmi OR at a minimum warn him the next time he pulls that he will be reprimanded with contempt.

It was always allowed to fester in the jury minds without any warning to the DT to knock it off. So the DT continued with more and more of those types of outright lies.

Their job of Nurmi was to bring on evidence to prove things. Not just lie to the jury themselves.

The reason I am so upset about this now is I really think the jury holdouts maybe considering that 1 or 2 of those outlandish lies may have had some truth to it.
Because the DT did this type of thing so often. And so often it was left in a mangled mess.

 

[jojo87]

It makes total sense. I think some people who made the jury should never have......

I agree. I know to be on a jury on a death penalty trial you have to be open to give a sentence of life or death but you have to base that choice on the mitigating factors. I just don't see how any of the mitigation the defense offered could be considered enough for a death qualified juror to vote life and believe me I've tried hard. This leads me to believe some jurors simply can't impose the death penalty under any circumstances when push comes to shove.