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Jodi Arias Verdict Sparks Several TV Specials

On May 8, 2013 - nearly 5 years after the battered body of Travis Alexander was discovered in his shower stall, 32 year old Jodi Ann Arias was found guilty of first degree murder in a Phoenix Superior Courthouse.  The case took 4 1/2 years to bring to trial. There were more than 600 exhibits, dueling defense and prosecution experts and a defendant who took the stand and remained there for more than three weeks.

In her own words, Jodi Arias testified about the passionate yet troubled relationship she had with victim Travis Alexander. Armed with a few angry text messages from Alexander and a raunchy phone sex tape, Arias and her defense team tried to build a case designed around making the jury dislike Travis Alexander.  While there was no evidence that Travis Alexander emotionally or physically abused Arias, the defense brought on experts that seemingly read between the lines of Arias' many journals, e-mails and text messages. The words that weren't there seemed to be of more importance than the words that were to the experts. The defense was doomed from the start. Framing Arias as a battered woman and Alexander as a sexual deviant who used control and spiritual domination was a risky trial strategy. If you are going to make those kinds of allegations in a court of law, you'd better have something to back you up. In her post-conviction interview, she made a point of referring to the statement Travis Alexander made during the phone-sex tape about her sounding like a 12 year old girl - she now says this was the statement a pedophile would make, whereas in her trial testimony she didn't put much emphasis on the line.  It seems to me that Jodi Arias was hoping to be seen as more of a Ellie Nesler-like vigilante who saved the world from a child predator than a cold-blooded killer. If you recall, Nesler made headlines for killing accused child molester Daniel Driver - shooting him five times in the head in a Tuolumne County courtroom back in 1993.  Driver was accused of molesting 4 young boys, one of which was Nesler's 6 year old son William.

Nesler was hated by some but reached folk-hero status with others for doing what she felt necessary to protect her son. Nesler was eventually convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to a 10-year prison term before the conviction was overturned for jury misconduct. The prosecution offered Nesler a plea deal in which she plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter - and she was released for time served (3 years) after it was discovered that Nesler had breast cancer. This California born story also captured a national if not worldwide audience, and inspired a 1999 USA cable network movie "Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story".

The Jodi Arias trial has also captivated a world-wide audience, but Arias is no Ellie Nesler. This past weekend alone, there were two specials on the trial and the verdict. One was played on CNN and the other was a Dateline special. Geraldo Rivera will host yet another special next Saturday at 10:00PM EST on FNC. Geraldo looks at Arias' lack of emotion following the guilty verdict and Arias' interview with Troy Hayden within an hour of being convicted of first degree murder. In describing "Guilty - Jodi Arias: In Her Own Words" Rivera promises an in-depth look at the newly convicted murderer, "she still clings to the notion that she was somehow the injured party", he says. In the special, Arias talks about her religion, her artwork, her amnesia and of the disappointment she brought to her fans (yes, that's how it's described!), friends and her loyal family. "It is an unprecedented look inside a troubled soul on the brink of judgement", Rivera said.
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/05/11/geraldo-rivera-previews-fox-news-special-guilty-jodi-arias-her-own-words?page=3&_pjax=%23region-content

Whether or not Arias receives the death penalty, she will ultimately serve time in the Perryville prison complex either awaiting execution or serving her sentence. Maggie Kerin, a former Perryville inmate gave ABC15.com an idea of what life is like on the inside of the prison. Kerin spent a total of 3 years at Perryville on a narcotics charge. She was moved into maximum security after being caught bringing a cell phone into the prison. She told ABC15.com "it is really boring, there is nothing to do but just lay there sometimes for 23 hours". She said she would often see death row or high profile inmates but never had contact with them. The high profile inmates are often taunted by the other inmates, especially if they come in with an attitude, Kerin reported. I have more information on the Perryville complex (including Death Row info) in a previous post if you are interested.

If she is spared her life, Arias will spend the rest of her days behind bars at the Perryville prison complex.  Her post-conviction interview showed a complete lack of remorse for the life that she ended. The only sorrow she shows is that she will be held responsible, and she seems disappointed that the jury didn't believe her tales. I get the feeling that Arias hasn't been held responsible for her failures in life before now. In particular, her behavior around males seems to point to a woman who has used her looks to manipulate and get what she wants out of people. Her reference to her supporters as "fans" is a perfect example of the way she views herself - she's a celebrity in her own mind.  I think the greatest blow to Jodi Arias will be the day the media tunes her out and she becomes irrelevant. That seems to be her greatest fear, although she insists she has not sought the attention she has received.

On Wednesday, the trial continues when the jurors return to court to hear arguments over aggravating factors. Often referred to as a "mini-trial", expect the unexpected.  This trial has been full of shock and surprise. As for Jodi Arias, will she remain in the psych ward on suicide watch or will she be returned to her Estrella cell block?  The Lifetime movie cast that was filming the docudrama based on this crime stopped filming to listen to the verdict live last week. The ending is being re-vamped to include the verdict - the original ending did not include the trial's verdict. Have a great week!


11 comments:

  1. I consider JA to be highly dangerous and I don't believe that will ever change.

    I’m now convinced that there is zero chance that Judge Stephens will grant the defense’s motion requiring videotaping the Alexander’s VIS. I’ve read the law and their motion is in violation of the Alexander’s rights as written in the AZ victim's rights law, so I feel better about that.

    If the jurors agree after Wed's testimony by Dr Horn that cruelty existed in the killing then during the Mitigation portion of the trial we will have to finally deal with another absurd defense motion that they filed back in Dec. The defense wants the State to be prevented from using against her or even mentioning the FACT that JA has no remorse! Judge Stephens deferred ruling until the Mitigation Stage of the trial comes up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If they don't allow the state to mention her lack of remorse, I'm hoping the jury will see for themselves that she has none.

      Delete
  2. Yay, another post! I hope it's okay to link another blog here but I thought you would find it interesting My Forte.
    http://camillekimball.blogspot.com/


    I have a feeling Jodi's probably been moved out of the psych ward by now. I know they mentioned the reason for the penalty phase having to wait until Wed. as opposed to today, was due to Dr. Horn having other obligations.

    Looking forward to more posts from you My Forte! Thank you for all your hard work in keeping us informed:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Donovan Bering is a parolee and
    may not correspond with a imprisoned felon. Bering was forced to close JA's twitter
    account. Or take a chance of
    violating her parole.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am quite interested in how much of the mental anguish will be entered into the Aggravation Phase, we all know he died a horrible physical death, but how much of the mental side will be considered.

    Years ago I read an account of the attack on the actress Theresa Seldana in People magazine I think. (Forgive me if I am not recalling the source correctly) Theresa was married and had a serious stalking situation occurring which was made more difficult because of the times and lack of awareness. Basically what happened was after years of threats and moving and hiding in fear at one point she finally felt like she was safe enough to walk unescorted downstairs to her car one sunny afternoon and was attacked in broad daylight. She said she knew instantly when she got to her car and heard her attacker call out her name that it was him. She turned and he began stabbing her in the chest. Her description was gut-wrenching. She would be in so much pain that she would try and grab the knife but that hurt so much that she would have to let go and he would start stabbing her in the chest again. She could hear air gurgling through her chest and she could see people stepping out on to their porches but didn't see them coming to help and her thoughts were "He's killing me." Luckily, a man ("her angel" as she described him) grabbed her attacker and saved her life. It was chilling to hear what was going through her mind and what she was experiencing with all of her senses.

    I have thought about what Travis was experiencing when he had to fight from a sitting position in that tiny shower, soaking wet and nude. He himself tried to grab the knife and he himself was being repeatedly stabbed in the chest and torso. Whether he actually linebacker manuevered and she was stabbing him in the back then or she had the cut causing the shallow stabs while he was standing at the mirror doesn't matter because he felt every one of the 29 stabs, just like Theresa felt every one of hers. That brief moment he stood at that sink must have been awful. He coughed blood, he saw himself and he saw his wounds. Travis MUST have thought "She's killing me." before trying to escape down the hall. According to JA he was on all fours and said he couldn't move his legs. He didn't make it very far before saying this... was he thinking she might take pity on him and stop? No she took this opportunity to cut his throat all the way down to his spine. Travis didn't have an "angel" to stop her and once she got him in the heart it wouldn't have made any difference.

    I just hope that what he went through with ALL of his senses is made as important as the physical pain. It's one thing to be shot from behind and die instantly never knowing what hit you but it's quite another to go through what Travis did.

    Sonja

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very interesting article from Feb that is about her new digs in Estrella jail.

    http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/exclusive-inside-estrella-jails-b400-pod-with-mcsos-most-dangerous-women#ixzz2TDRLSBls

    ReplyDelete
  6. TRAVIS BROTHER released a statement: “May 8th was a great day! A verdict was handed down and finally we can call her a murderer but it wasn’t too long until she stole the spotlight again. Travis waited almost 5 years to have the person responsible for his death be convicted of murder. It took her 20 mins to bring the spotlight back on her – trashing Travis even more. Justice still waits. The hardest part is only just beginning. Please keep praying for justice. We are halfway there. Thank you all for your support and love. We are not done yet! Justice 4 Travis!”

    ~ Steven Alexander, Travis’ brother

    ReplyDelete
  7. This infuriates me! Beth Karas mentioned last week that now that JA is a convicted felon all of her commissary funds will be given to the family as part of restitution. Karas said the last time that the jail gave her info on JA’s account was in early April and at that time she had more than $2500.00 in it. Most inmates have no more than $25. Sooo, now Donovan is coming to the rescue to divert $$.

    https://twitter.com/SuzieSeagraves/status/332324100544536576/photo/1

    AND then there is this!

    https://twitter.com/josemcyntire/status/331634614785437697/photo/1

    I reported her to the CA Tax Franchise Board last week but now I intend to file another complaint with them. Anyone else that would like to send them an email - here's the link.

    https://www.ftb.ca.gov/online/fraud_referral/index.shtml

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's a vile, disgusting demon NancyB. She doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as civilized people. Donovan is an insecure pile of dung who's thrilled with Jodi's attention but that's exactly the type Jodi preys on. That's how she put her hooks into Travis, he was just finding himself, getting his confidence as a man and she saw that and dug her claws of evil into him. Ryan Burns was her next victim. If it's any consolation, all those Ebay bids were fakes from Donovan to attempt to bump up the price. The disgusting site that claims the demon is innocent has put a notice up saying "All Art Has Sold"...my a$$ it sold!

      Delete
    2. NancyB,
      Oh I'm so glad you reported Arias to the FTB. Is she liable for taxes in the state of AZ as well? Hard to say where the sales originate when they are made online? I was thinking more of reporting her to the IRS as a catch-all. Her activities do constitute a business, regardless who is selling what from where. I'd like to get the ball rolling with the IRS, they are no so forgiving for those who fail to report earned income. Certain states Son of Sam laws extend to family members/friends, I'm going to check on AZ's laws. What would stop Arias from "gifting" these sketches to a friend, then the friend sells them? There are soo many loopholes, but hopefully with the civil/wrongful death suit - the funds will be recovered and safeguarded until the victims can file a claim for them. Had Arias held her greed in check to include only the travel expenses of family, I may be a little more understanding but what she is doing is despicable!!

      Delete
  8. https://twitter.com/dmott12985/status/334124916083412992/photo/1

    ReplyDelete

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