Retrial for Sentencing of Jodi Arias - Day 5

[katydid23]

Your points are great, I agree with you, especially on the phone sex nonsense. Yet there is something else worth considering - the impact of those tapes on new ears. I knew very little of this case when I started watching the trial. I was shocked by the phone recording - not the dull sex but the hypocrisy element from both participants. Also, Travis doesn't sound like Prince Charming to a new listener without knowledge of him or the trial. He sounded bored, tired and judgemental. This was not Travis at his best and Arias hoped others would feel this. She planned it, taped it to catch him out.

It took the brilliant Juan Martinez to paint a picture of Travis that added colour to the black and white portrait the defense tried to paint. And he succeeded. Arias' produced a tape that scuppered her own case. It was ultimately more harmful to her than Travis. Juan exposed her smug, lying, arrogant demeanor on the stand. The impact of the recording faded in regard to Travis. He emerged as a loved, warm, decent human being with not a shred of evdence to back her revolting lies. Juan showed that Arias was the monster and Travis the innocent victim of a savage slaughter.

I agree with you. And I hope Juan will be able to do so again for this jury. They know nothing about Travis yet, except for this trashy phonecall.

 

[Sedonia Sunset]

Jen's Trial Diaries ‏@TrialDiariesJ 35s35 seconds ago Chandler, AZ
Nurmi is snippy and asks Detective Flores if he has a memory problem. He's raising his voice and slamming papers #jodiarias #3tvarias

LOL.

It must be very hard to sit in the gallery and NOT roll one's eyes at his melodrama, especially if one has seen Juan at work and recognizes that Nurmi is simply regurgitating it in without the right sense of timing.

 

[MeeBee]

Is court off tomorrow so the judge can make her ruling on the pending Misconduct/Evacuation Motions?

 

[TexMex]

IIRC, Nurmi requested a plea deal which the State rejected in July of 2011. In the document Arias wants to plead guilty to second degree murder. That would result in a sentence anywhere from 20 years to life. She had already been in jail 3 years so if given 20 she could be released in as little as 15 years, best case scenario for her. The document reads like a threat where said she would plead guilty and spare the Alexander family the humiliation of hearing how their loved one had treated her and how he was not a proper Morman virgin and they could prove this "using his own words"
The State rejected this deal and opted to prosecute as planned and seek the death penalty.
IMO Jodi decided then on a scorched earth defense. That if she was going to die in prison then she was going to do everything possible to take down Travis one more time.

 

[neesaki]

I agree with you. And I hope Juan will be able to do so again for this jury. They know nothing about Travis yet, except for this trashy phonecall.

Yes, sadly, in spite of the fact that Travis is being put on trial, and hasn't the opportunity to speak for himself, he also doesn't have the same privilege of "mitigating" factors as this sadistic, convicted killer.

 

[katydid23]

It must be very hard to sit in the gallery and NOT roll one's eyes at his melodrama, especially if one has seen Juan at work and recognizes that Nurmi is simply regurgitating it in without the right sense of timing.

That's so true. Juan saved it for insufferable, pompous or clueless types. You end up rooting for Juan because the experts were obnoxious in some way. But Det. Flores is such a calm, down to earth, honest man. It looks silly and misplaced for Nurmi to stand up there and throw a fake hissy fit. LOL

 

[AlwaysShocked]

Wow. What a day. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who have posted the tweets. It is really appreciated!

Re: Judges and rules of evidence. I think we must presume that a sitting judge is knowledgeable about the current rules of evidence in their own jurisdiction. I'm not saying that a judge never makes an error, but I do think for the most part they know their job. And the back up to that is the attorneys. Juan Martinez can object to anything any time he wants. Certainly if Nurmi began introducing something that was not allowed in, Mr. Martinez would immediately object.

So, I guess we all need to chill out on whether or not it is legal for Nurmi to be saying whatever he is saying. And yes, I fully expect to hear him reintroduce the pedophile accusations. Travis' family members have already been through this once, and Martinez will surely guide them appropriately if they decide they don't want to sit through it again.

Much as I think he is smarmy, I do think Nurmi is doing his job as a defense attorney.

And this is good. I went to a site earlier today that lists everyone who has been on death row who was eventually exonerated. The site gives a synopsis of each case. A number of the convictions were indeed overturned based on ineffective counsel. (The vast majority seemed to be overturned due to witnesses who lied.)

Here's the site:http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row

On a personal note, I am not strongly invested in the death penalty as punishment. LWOP would be fine with me. Because I think it is worse.

 

[Deleted member 122533]

Bolded by me.

Many thanks, MeeBee! That is one mystery solved today.

 

[TartLemon]

I haven't read much about the trial Monday or Tuesday.

Is Jodi scheduled to testify?

 

[thefragile7393]

Either way she isn't leaving prison alive. The problem is either way taxpayers have to spend money to keep her alive, while Travis didn't have that privilege...if the DP was overhauled to not drag on for years that would be great. The big difference is that with LWOP she gets general population. She's a psycho-sociopath....she does not react to things like average people do. You have to think like her in order to understand her-LWOP gets some things that DR does not.On DR, at least she'd be away from the gen pop and not able to play games like she does. Unfortunately right now the DP is much like LWOP anyway, just different parts of the prison with different privileges. Neither is really fair to me but those are the options in this country and state and much better than her ever getting parole.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

Tart lemon, for the type of Jodi that Nurmi wants to potray to this jury - a mentally ill girl who was abused and humiliated by Travis and who probably just "snapped" - I don't think he is going to want to take the chance of allowing the new jury to see the real Jodi. So my bet is he keeps her off the stand.

----------------------

Many of you who post here are way too young to remember the "Charles Mason girls" murders. Their trial was HUGE at the time. These were the zombie-like women who followed Manson's orders - along with two guys - and absolutely slaughtered the 8 months pregnant actress Sharon Tate and three of her friends. It was a horrendous, bloody, extremely violent crime. One of the women cut the unborn baby out of her stomach.

Those women have been in jail ever since. One of them died a few years ago. Quite frankly, any time I've seen or read an article about any of them over the years, I have felt happy inside that they are still rotting away in jail.

The book "Helter Skelter" by Vincent Bugliosi, the Prosecutor, is an excellent read about the case.

 

[bsk]

IIRC, Nurmi requested a plea deal which the State rejected in July of 2011. In the document Arias wants to plead guilty to second degree murder. That would result in a sentence anywhere from 20 years to life. She had already been in jail 3 years so if given 20 she could be released in as little as 15 years, best case scenario for her. The document reads like a threat where said she would plead guilty and spare the Alexander family the humiliation of hearing how their loved one had treated her and how he was not a proper Morman virgin and they could prove this "using his own words"
The State rejected this deal and opted to prosecute as planned and seek the death penalty.
IMO Jodi decided then on a scorched earth defense. That if she was going to die in prison then she was going to do everything possible to take down Travis one more time.

It's too bad Juan can't introduce her threats as evidence of what a monster she is.

 

[dyannaON]

I know off topic but am really curious. Please forgive me for asking in this thread but after a trial is all over and done with are judges allowed to express their opinion if a defendant is guilty, their reaction to a jury's verdict? and why a judge would do certain things during a trial and how it made them feel ect ect? Can they speak with media or do they have to remain hush hush while being a judge still?


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[Sulamith]

It's too bad Juan can't introduce her threats as evidence of what a monster she is.

Who did JA threaten? I had not heard that.

 

[Hatfield]

Either way she isn't leaving prison alive. The problem is either way taxpayers have to spend money to keep her alive, while Travis didn't have that privilege...if the DP was overhauled to not drag on for years that would be great. The big difference is that with LWOP she gets general population. She's a psycho-sociopath....she does not react to things like average people do. You have to think like her in order to understand her-LWOP gets some things that DR does not.On DR, at least she'd be away from the gen pop and not able to play games like she does. Unfortunately right now the DP is much like LWOP anyway, just different parts of the prison with different privileges. Neither is really fair to me but those are the options in this country and state and much better than her ever getting parole.

Thats another reason why I wouldnt mind if she gets the DP. She deserves to be locked up all by her lonesome and away from other inmates. I would not put it past her to shag someone in the neck with a sharpened pen or something.

Just the other day, the killer of the 2 girls in Oklahoma (think his last name is "Sweat") sliced his attorney in the face/neck area inside the courthouse with a razor blade he somehow got in jail/prison. Luckily he didnt get him too bad and he was ok.
The guards subdued him before much damage could be done

 

[Hatfield]

I know off topic but am really curious. Please forgive me for asking in this thread but after a trial is all over and done with are judges allowed to express their opinion if a defendant is guilty, their reaction to a jury's verdict? and why a judge would do certain things during a trial and how it made them feel ect ect? Can they speak with media or do they have to remain hush hush while being a judge still?


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Its a good question as I have only seen attorneys do that sort of thing.
JMO, but I doubt they do that much unless many years later because of the risk of saying something that could ultimately be used in an appeal.

 

[zoomom]

Here's a tray of Comfort with some lemon wedges & a soda siphon. We have now discovered what we were "deprived of" in the past. The mental talents of Arias & Nurmi have combined & we are left to view the running polluted discharge of their convergence. Yes! Counsel and defendant have long been at war, a war that so raged it could not be concealed from the public, no matter how it harmed either of their causes. But as all courtroom observers have observed & informed us, a week ago and slightly more, they found a new understanding and congeniality. So what we see and hear now is what they produce when they cooperate. It may be ghastly to look upon but at least we can understand how we have arrived at this new low in suggestions, assertions, innuendos, smears & accusations complete with handy churn to keep it flying in all directions. Please, do have a drink of Comfort on me, erase the day's slime for now and then stiffen your resolve for next court day.

Thank you, Tuba.

I believe I will have a drink of Jack & ginger. Nerve Tonic. I need it after today.

 

[outofstatelawyer]

I know off topic but am really curious. Please forgive me for asking in this thread but after a trial is all over and done with are judges allowed to express their opinion if a defendant is guilty, their reaction to a jury's verdict? and why a judge would do certain things during a trial and how it made them feel ect ect? Can they speak with media or do they have to remain hush hush while being a judge still?


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Judges do not do this because, God forbid, the case could be reversed on appeal and sent back to the trial court for a new trial. Sometimes, either when all appeals are exhausted (as if) or the Judge retires, they will comment. But, that's not the usual case.

 

[Sedonia Sunset]

Shake My Head :no:

A while back I kept seeing that acronym and could not figure out what it stood for. All I saw was something that, in my head, was pronounced "smeh", which sometimes seemed vaguely obscene. I finally googled it and figured it out, but to this day I almost always process it first as "smeh" at first glance. :grin:

 

[Renee110]

Link: http://www.hlntv.com/slideshow/2014/10/28/jodi-arias-death-penalty-retrial-day-5-photos

This burns me up and reinforces how cruel CMJA is. I'm talking about the new royal blue shirt she is sporting. Yesterday Jen tweeted that the Alexander sisters took turns and always wore royal blue to court, and I'm assuming it's because it was Travis's favorite color and they wear it in tribute. I find it interesting that a day after Jen tweeted this, CMJA is wearing a brand new royal blue shirt. What a slap in the face and it must have been hard for Travis's sisters to see her wearing that color. And someone on her defense went out and bought it for her. They are all heinous.

@TrialDiariesJ: Samantha, Tanisha and Harold have arrived. One sister is always in royal blue. Today it's Samantha #jodiarias #3tvarias