Is Jodi Arias Making More Behind Bars Than She Did On The Outside?

In another sickening revelation, it appears accused murderer Jodi Arias' art work is selling so well that she has announced on her website that "100 Limited Edition Reprints" a sketch called "Hourless" is coming soon. Is this a disgusting display of pure greed, or has Jodi Arias finally found the success from behind bars that alluded her as a free woman?  It has been reported that eBay banned the sales of Arias artwork after several pieces sold caused public outrage, but Arias who has taken to Twitter said that the eBay ban has only increased the value of her art! According to her website, authenticity of true Arias artwork comes via her right thumbprint. Seems her left palmprint is what started this whole thing Ms. Arias.

I'm sure the Alexander family is more concerned with getting through the criminal murder trial before pursing a potential wrongful death case against Jodi Arias, but I hope they eventually do. Arias has shown she does have some artistic talents - however, we all know she would not be fetching a reported $2,000 - $3,000 per piece if NOT for the notoriety of her savage crime. Arias has been able to effectly get around her lack of computer access by having a friend or supporter run her website, which I refuse to name in this post. It's not hard to find, but I wouldn't honor it with another page views. The site links to the other Arias supporter website but both accept donations!

If there is nothing that legally prevent Arias from profiting from her crime while behind bars, what can we as a society do to thwart the shameless greed? All we can do is boycott anything Arias related and limit the buyers to those who collect "murderabilia" and the like. While the Alexander siblings suffer, Arias who claimed to be selling her sketches to help pay her family's travel expenses during the trial - has just become outright greedy. While the taxpayers are footing the bill for a $1.4 million dollar trial for Arias, she is making thousands of (unreported) dollars through art sales and other online donations?  I.R.S., are you hearing this? Unreported income.

I don't know what else to say. I'm sickened, I'm saddened and I wish the jury were privy to the shameless profiteering of this murder defendant. They will likely never know, unless it's brought forth in the mitigation or sentencing phase. It looks like Jodi Arias got a little taste of "fame" or rather "infamy" and she now seemingly can't get enough of it. Tweets and a website, all from behind bars. Looks like Arias has found the success that she's always dreamed of. I wouldn't be surprised to find copies of her journals up for sale next. All I can say is "Wrongful Death Suit". Please.

12 Jurors Will Randomly Be Selected To Deliberate Arias' Fate

Closing arguments in the Jodi Arias murder trial are finally in sight after a lengthy trial that began on January 2, 2013. A pool of 18 jurors was chosen for this trial - but only 12 will ultimately participate in deliberations and decide the fate of 32 year old Jodi Arias. The trial has lost two of the 18 jurors, one for health reasons and the other for undetermined reasons. 16 jurors remain on the panel as of this post.

As in all high profile criminal trials not much is known about the identity of the jurors. Here is a look at the remaining jurors and observations noted by people seated in the gallery and according to HLN (the corresponding juror numbers may or may not be accurate, HLN's website appears to have incorrectly listed Juror #11 as a married white female in her 30's, but it's been widely reported  that Juror #11 was a young Hispanic male - for that reason, I swapped their descriptions of Juror #11 and Juror #17):

Juror #1:  a white female believed to be in her 60's. She was reportedly observed yawning during an emotional part of Jodi Arias' testimony. It's also been noted that she doesn't look at Arias often.

Juror #2:  a white male believed to be in his 50's, he doesn't take many notes and sits with his head cupped in his hands while listening to the testimony.

Juror #3:  a while female believed to be in her 40's, said to be a big note taker who watches Juan Martinez very closely and has been observed putting questions in the basket.

Juror #4:  a white male believed to be in his 60's who isn't a big note taker.

(Juror #5 - dismissed for unknown reason):  a white female believed to be in her 30's and married, she is known for her unique hairstyle and is said to be observed sitting on the edge of her seat.

Juror #6:  a white female believed to be in her 60's, observed taking notes frequently.

Juror #7:  a white male believed to be in his 30's, he is married and is seen taking notes and has been observed frequently biting his nails!

Juror #8:  a white male believed to be in his 50's, he is married, takes notes and has been observed submitting questions to the jury basket.

Juror #9:  a white male believed to be in his 60's. He is known for wearing denim on most days, and sits near the end of the jury box nearest to the row where the Alexander family sits.

Juror #10:  a white male believed to be in his 60's. He is rarely seen taking notes but it has been observed that he has a tattoo on his right arm. He sits furthest away from the witness box.

(Juror #11 was dismissed for health reasons):  a Hispanic male believed to be in his late 20's or early 30's, he is rarely observed taking notes but has been known to slouch down so far in his chair that he's barely visible to the gallery. He is said to be a casual dresser, and is not seen taking many notes.

Juror #12:  a white female believed to be in her 40's, she is a note taker who has been known to swivel her chair towards Arias during testimony.

Juror #13:  a white male believed to be in his late 60's or early 70's, he is the juror who wears an audio enhancing headset, he is not known to be a note taker.

Juror #14:  a white male believed to be in his 60's, also known to swivel his chair and is not often seen taking notes.

Juror #15:  a white male believed to be in his late 20's or early 30's, he appears to be the youngest juror and was observed smiling when Juan Martinez asked Jodi Arias if she could predict the future. He is not often seen taking notes.

Juror #16:  a white male believed to be in his 40's. Nothing else was said or observed about this juror.

Juror #17:  a white female believed to be in her 30's she is married and is known to take a lot of notes. She reportedly does not look at Arias during testimony, rather she looks straight ahead or down at her notes. 

Juror #18:  a white female believed to be in her 40's. She is known to scan the gallery during sidebars and occasionally is seen taking notes.

The 12 jurors who will ultimately deliberate and (hopefully) reach a verdict to decide the fate of Jodi Arias will be chosen at random. Can you imagine going through this whole process and not be one of the final 12? That would be tough for me. I'd be so invested at that point and to not be part of the decision making process would be disappointing.

With judgement day looming, it has to be gut-wrenching for the Alexander family and Arias family as well. Has the defense offered a believable theory of what happened that tragic evening of June 4, 2008? Have they succeeded in garnering some type of relationship between the defendant and the jurors? Are there pieces of Arias' stories that may have rang true with at least one of the jurors? Those are all questions we cannot possibly answer. The jury questions were telling, but without knowing how many jurors were asking those questions and who will ultimately be seated for deliberations it's anyones guess.

If the jury decides the preponderance of evidence points to premeditation and they find Arias guilty of first degree murder, will they be able to hand down the ultimate punishment of death? Or will they show mercy and let her live, albeit in prison? I don't know what choices the jury will have to consider aside from first degree murder, but I don't believe it's an all-or-nothing verdict consideration. Judge Stephens will instruct the final jurors on what charges they may consider and the applicable laws they must follow in rendering a verdict.  In Arizona, if second degree murder is an option for the Arias jury, I believe the sentencing guidelines call for anywhere from 7 years to a maximum of 22 years.

I don't know if manslaughter is going to be a choice the jury has, but sentencing varies widely on manslaughter. With the sheer number of injuries to Travis Alexander and the lack of injuries to Arias, it seems this would not be a case of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter - seems to me that first or second degree murder are more appropriate for a killing of this magnitude and brutality. The jury instructions will be interesting, but the closing arguments are what I've been anticipating. I believe that opposing attorneys are allowed to object during closing arguments but its not something that is done to the extent that we have seen throughout this trial. I would hope we won't see the frequent sidebars and each side allows the other to deliver their closing arguments without interrupting the flow.

It's been a long and bumpy road in getting to this point of the trial. It's been a fight to the finish, complete with motions by the defense for mistrials, two excused jurors, media commentators called to the witness stand, vomiting inside the public gallery, delay-causing headaches and so much more. We heard a murder defendant testify for 18 days in her own defense, a rare occurance in murder trials. We know family members on both sides by face and name by now, we know "cane-lady" and Arias supporters who are daily props in the court room gallery. We know the story inside and out, and each of us have our own theories and thoughts about what we feel the appropriate verdict and punishment should be for Jodi Arias.

Did the jury believe Travis Alexander physically abused Jodi Arias? And if they did believe part of all of her testimony, will they believe that killing Travis was in any way justified by the alleged abuse? In my opinion only (since some comments have suggested my summaries are biased), the only thing the defense has proven is that Jodi really was Travis' "dirty little secret", and that he seemed to be engaged in a consensual intimate relationship with Jodi long after telling friends things were over between the two. Beyond that, I believe the allegations of physical abuse were simply fictional. I believe Arias' story about the January 21, 2008 incident of catching Travis with the photo was fictional, and if the January 21 incident never occurred, it's likely the January 22 physical confrontation that ended with Jodi breaking her finger never happened either. 

I do believe there are coincidences that occur in our lives. They happen to all of us, however I feel there are too many coincidences in this case relating to key evidence for them to truly be a coincidence. What are the statistical chances of somebody breaking/entering an elderly couple's modest home and stealing a .25 caliber handgun in small-town Yreka ONE WEEK prior to a .25 caliber handgun being used to shoot Travis Alexander in another state? What are the odds that WalMart's records on the returned gas cans was wrong? If the cashier is giving a customer back cash in particular - receipts are essential in balancing their register at the end of their shift. Sure, it's not impossible but is it probable?

I also believe Arias downplayed her reaction to finding out Travis intended to take Mimi Hall to Cancun on June 10, 2008, just 6 days before he's leaving he is killed? Another coincidence? Had Jodi simply been more honest about her feelings about Mimi going on that trip with Travis perhaps she would have came across as a little more sincere? Who among us hasn't been jealous at some point in our lives? Going to such great lengths to deny being at all jealous was another issue I have a hard time getting past. Jodi Arias likely knew a lot of people who were going on that Pre Paid Legal sponsored trip. It was a big deal, and it would be understandable to be disappointed she wasn't going.

There are so many points the jury will have to consider, along with a virtual mountain of evidence. How long will the jury deliberate? It's hard to say, but everything that's been reported about this jury is that they are engaged, paying attention and they haven't seemed to lose interest despite the length of the trial. Most of the time, the jury seems to get it right. Let's hope this is one of those times. I don't dare to predict the outcome of this trial, I'm superstitious in that way. Legal pundits are already predicting their verdicts - that's a dangerous thing to do. Did anybody watching the Casey Anthony trial believe she would actually walk on all of the serious charges against her? I don't think many people predicted that outcome.


As we inch closer to the conclusion of this trial, I wanted to thank everyone who has read and contributed to this blog with insightful and thoughtful comments. I started this blog back in November or December of 2012 prior to jury selection, and I'm consistently surprised that other people have found it and have returned to read it throughout the trial. I just wanted to thank you! 

What will happen next week as the state's rebuttal case continues? Does the state have any surprise rebuttal witnesses, such as Matt McCartney?  Jodi Arias has seemed strangely detached during DeMarte's testimony in particular. Could it be that "the fog" has returned as judgement day looms? If there was ever a time where a migraine would be understandable, it's now. Enjoy your weekend!