VERDICT WATCH - Sentencing of Jodi Arias - Retrial Day 43, Part 2

[Val1]

I'm still going with Wednesdays child is full of woe!

Good call!


Wednesday
July 9, 1980
JA's birthdate

 

[Amster]

To me, claiming what Jodi did to Travis, as not all that bad..... not really bad enough for the DP...is saying Travis' life just isn't as important as Jodis' life. Is it because he is Mormon? A man? Worked for PPL? Had gf's? What?? Maybe the abuse is believed? Jodi is mentally ill? Didn't know right from wrong?

Being against the DP in all cases is understandable. But, if the DP is ok for others, just not Jodi....then to me that is trashing Travis. Didn't Sherry allow enough of that? Does the man have to be ground into dirt before some are satisfied?

 

[mydirtysecret]

I've personally always felt the DP was an appropriate sentence for cmja OTOH I understood the likelihood that shed likely end up with lwop for many reasons including the overall change towards the DP as a whole in the nation. While her crime is deserving of the DP everything else about the case makes it unlikely.

 

[Hatfield]

I just want to thank everyone for their opinions, comments, and discussions.

Even though this case has been one of the most frustrating cases I have ever followed, it also has been one of the most fascinating cases.

I hope the jury decides on something tomorrow. It would just be nice not to leave it in anybody else's hands other than their own.

Like I mentioned yesterday in RUSH's "freewill" song.

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkUOtLwjvrw

 

[TexMex]

Bingo! It is not supposed to be emotional. I completely understand that people are emotional about the murder of a great man, But still it is not supposed to be about emotions.

Which mitigators are the strongest for you? These jurors were sworn in promising to unemotionally weigh aggravating factors v mitigating factors.

1. Arias has no prior criminal history.
2. Arias was just 27 years old at the time she killed Travis Alexander.
3. Arias is remorseful.
4. Arias suffered both physical and emotional abuse as a child.
5. Arias suffered both physical and emotional abuse during her relationship with Travis Alexander.
6. The abusive nature of Arias' relationship with Travis Alexander caused her to suffer extreme emotional distress.
7. Arias has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
8. Arias has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.
9. Arias' psychological makeup impaired her ability to cope with the tumultuous relationship

 

[Softail]

I hope y'll go to bed. Nothing you can do.... Sleep well

 

[Sulamith]

Really? Can you give a link supporting the statement "Texas has had a lot of problems with putting people on death row, only to exonerate them later"?

What evil would Jodi have to do that, in your opinion, would qualify her as the worst of the worst?

Worst of the worst: Israel Keyes. Ron and Dan Lafferty, Rebecca David, Susan Smith, Josh Powell, Jeremiah Wright and every criminal featured on The Dreamin' Demon. People who kill their babies.

 

[Val1]

I think JA deserves the DP, but I have never served on a jury and I don't know if I could really vote to end someone's life.

However, I do know that the " look at these horrific autopsy" photos wouldn't work with me. I do not like to be emotional when I am making decisions, I want to be sure my reasoning is sound and my conscience is in alignment with my beliefs.

Looking at the graphic photos would make me afraid I was voting out of vengeance and not justice.

By the same coin, JA's pity party stories would again make me wary.

I would just want the facts and the law so I could reason my way to my vote.

That is just me.

The pics are facts, that's what poor little spanked with a wooden spoon JA did, after preparing and driving 1000 miles to do it, to a man that she had willingly agreed to be his bootie call and from the evidence, instigated much of the time.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Just read somewhere that, if this jury deadlocks, the decision goes to JJS. BUT the DT gets to put on witnesses (no cross examination) to try to persuade the judge that she should get LWP? So Mrs. Arias could still speak for her daughter and even Jodi could speak. Is this true?

Right, so basically we'll be here another year.

 

[borndem]

Been following along and reading. I've also been doing a lot of thinking about the DP and IMO Arias deserves it. She will probably never actually sit in the death chamber but for me it's about her quality of life and I don't believe she deserves any quality to her life whatsoever. IMO, for me, she put the needle in her arm not only in the way she murdered him but also the pedo accusations and sliming him during the trial. To me that tells me about her state of mind and the kind of human she actually is.

I'm a vegan, but I'd still put down a rabid animal. For its sake and all living things around it.

Arias is a rabid human animal that needs to be put down.

I read that back and see how awful it looks typed out, but it's how I feel.

All JMHO and I apologise if I have offended any fellow sleuther.

You certainly have not offended me, Turandot. My thoughts on this are similar to what you have said, but mine probably are worse. I am a liberal from the very first to the very last, but I have seen too much to not support the death penalty in certain cases. If any of you followed the Teghan Skiba case where her torturer/murderer was given the DP in record time, that is one case where I would not lose 1 minute of sleep if I had been on the jury & voted for the DP. This is another.

In both cases their guilt could not be argued -- there was no doubt who had done it, what had been done -- so horribly and cruel, and how the killer finally dealt with the victim was no accident. Not even close.

In this case, I want JA in a box: either a box made by steel bars and razor wire from which she cannot ever escape or the other kind where she will never escape. I know her sentence will be LWOP or death, and either one is fine with me -- as long as the LWOP or DP will never be changed to time served or some kind of way she sees freedom. She must not ever be allowed outside prison, ever. As long as that is what it is, forever, I don't care. Forever, period.

What that woman did was inhuman, cruel, vindictive, medieval, just plain mean, and all the rest. Further, and just as bad, she robbed the world of a decent and good human being, and she plotted every moment of it from the day she met him, and as things progressed. This world needs more people like TA, and she removed him from it and from his family and from the world at large. How dare she. How dare she.

 

[Shadowboy]

Which mitigators are the strongest for you?

1. Arias has no prior criminal history.
2. Arias was just 27 years old at the time she killed Travis Alexander.
3. Arias is remorseful.
4. Arias suffered both physical and emotional abuse as a child.
5. Arias suffered both physical and emotional abuse during her relationship with Travis Alexander.
6. The abusive nature of Arias' relationship with Travis Alexander caused her to suffer extreme emotional distress.
7. Arias has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
8. Arias has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.
9. Arias' psychological makeup impaired her ability to cope with the tumultuous relationship

That's the only one that works for me (BBM). However, the tumult in the relationship was entirely manufactured by JA. Soooo...? Guess that one doesn't work either.

As an aside, I wish JM had demonstrated JA's "pot stirring" to this jury with more clarity.

 

[SuperTmo]

The sex and lies make me crazy. I don't believe a word of it. I don't care what age she was unless she was 12. I just am for some reason weighing this hard and sympathizing with this jury.

I don't think She is mentally ill enough to escape death. I wish I could put my finger on it.
One thing that I do find appealing about no DP, is that the Anti Death crowd will not be working on this. No one is going to make her a cause except the 9 people she has now. She will fade as the years go by and then she will cease to exist. She will just rot in that cell and be in the nothingness that is prison. Maybe that is it for me. Maybe because of who she is, I feel like for her rotting in that jail being nothing special is better than DP that sadly comes with notoriety, its own set of people that will come out of the woodwork to support any nut on DR.

Does that make sense? I think that in this case I just feel like LWOP is worse for her in the long run?

BBM. Such a good point!

 

[Apparition]

Stabbed him 27 times, slit his neck and almost cut his head off, then shot him, to me enough said. DP all the way

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

To me, claiming what Jodi did to Travis, as not all that bad..... not really bad enough for the DP...is saying Travis' life just isn't as important as Jodis' life. Is it because he is Mormon? A man? Worked for PPL? Had gf's? What?? Maybe the abuse is believed? Jodi is mentally ill? Didn't know right from wrong?

Being against the DP in all cases is understandable. But, if the DP is ok for others, just not Jodi....then to me that is trashing Travis. Didn't Sherry allow enough of that? Does the man have to be ground into dirt before some are satisfied?

I don't believe that. I do think she butchered him. I believe that she planned to kill him and I don't think her life is more valuable at all. I think that Travis was a good guy, Not a perfect guy but a good guy who didn't deserve this for any reason at all. She is the monster. She is the killer.

When I think of all the murderers out there, I don't know what makes one seem more deserving than others of the DP.
I know for me I have to take the emotion out of it.
I think the defense in this case was despicable and completely a lie. I still don't think I am good with the DP. Who knows give me an hour. This is hard. I have been trying to weigh it all as if I am the one casting a vote that matters. It is hurting my brain.

 

[5bigfish5]

But, The people on this jury were not in on the first trial. They did not see everything and only got a snapshot of a trial to show them things that applied to the DP. So going in they could have no idea what she deserved or what they could vote for only that they could give the DP if warranted.

They were seeing it all for the first time and not even all that we saw. I have to say I was more ready for the DP after the first trial. I may have voted for DP then. I know this all sounds so odd. I am pretty perplexed by it all tonight. But I feel like today, I could not vote DP. I just feel like in this case justice is LWOP. Her never ever ever leaving that prison.

Then bad on the jurors.

They only had TWO things to accomplish.

#1) ACCEPT the FACT that Jodi Premeditated the murder and it involved CRUELTY.

#2) FOLLOW the LAW and weigh her mitigators against the CRUELTY.

 

[TexMex]

That's the only one that works for me (BBM). However, the tumult in the relationship was entirely manufactured by JA. Soooo...? Guess that one doesn't work either.

As an aside, I wish JM had demonstrated JA's "pot stirring" to this jury with more clarity.

Yes. These jurors were sworn in promising to logically weigh aggravating factors v mitigating ones. None of the mitigators make sense. Juan spent time knocking down each one IMO

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

Then bad on the jurors.

They only had TWO things to accomplish.

#1) ACCEPT the FACT that Jodi Premeditated the murder and it involved CRUELTY.

#2) FOLLOW the LAW and weigh her mitigators against the CRUELTY.

That still does not mean they HAVE to find for death. That is not how the instructiuons are written. They are to weigh it and decide individually what the punishment should be.

 

[TexMex]

Then bad on the jurors.

They only had TWO things to accomplish.

#1) ACCEPT the FACT that Jodi Premeditated the murder and it involved CRUELTY.

#2) FOLLOW the LAW and weigh her mitigators against the CRUELTY.

Exactly. Thats what they swore to do
PTSD? No
She may have BPD but millions do and don't kill their friends. Many are conscientious enough to seek help

 

[Steve44]

Which mitigators are the strongest for you? These jurors were sworn in promising to unemotionally weigh aggravating factors v mitigating factors.

1. Arias has no prior criminal history.
2. Arias was just 27 years old at the time she killed Travis Alexander.
3. Arias is remorseful.
4. Arias suffered both physical and emotional abuse as a child.
5. Arias suffered both physical and emotional abuse during her relationship with Travis Alexander.
6. The abusive nature of Arias' relationship with Travis Alexander caused her to suffer extreme emotional distress.
7. Arias has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
8. Arias has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.
9. Arias' psychological makeup impaired her ability to cope with the tumultuous relationship

I think the only ones that are the least bit true are 1,2,and 8. The rest are lies. 1,2,and 8 don't even come close to 'mitigating' what she did. It's blatantly offensive to even suggest that they do.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

"While all twelve of you had to unanimously agree that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of a statutory aggravating circumstance, you do not need to unanimously agree on a particular mitigating circumstance. Each one of you must decide individually whether any mitigating circumstance exists.
You are not limited to the mitigating circumstances offered by the defendant. You must also consider any other information that you find is relevant in determining whether to impose a life sentence, so long as it relates to an aspect of the defendant’s background, character, propensities, record, or circumstances of the offense"

This means that they can look over things and make a determination on something other than what the DT offered them.
These are from the first penalty phase of this trial. Not this one because I could not find them but I would think the instructions are based on the law of what is allowed and would have to stand.