As August
26, 2013 approaches, I’m wondering what we will learn about the next steps in
the sentencing retrial of Jodi Arias.
Will this be another 5 minute hearing, where the defense team will ask
for another delay? I can think of
several potential issues Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott have previously
raised or could potentially raise in their efforts to put off the retrial of
the sentencing phase of their client.
When will this end?
They will
more than likely ask for a change in venue, arguing the media publicity of the
trial unfairly tainted the potential jury pool – naturally, they will fail to
mention their client’s part in the media feeding frenzy that surrounded this
trial. Arias famously scheduled numerous
interviews after the verdict was handed down during the guilt phase, and has
drawn attention to herself virtually from the start – beginning with the 48
Hours, Inside Edition and other jailhouse interviews back before she admitted
to killing Travis Alexander. Throughout
her trial, she assured the spotlight would be squarely on her by tweeting
messages to her “supporters” through friend Donovan Bering and hawking her
artwork in online auctions. She taunted
and criticized Nancy Grace and HLN News for targeting her. How dare the media portray her in such a
fashion! The message here is Arias seems
to believe in the media, but only when it’s her that’s doing the talking. Anybody who disagrees or questions her
details or lack of details around the murder is a hater.
So will
Judge Sherry Stephens forge ahead with a firm date to start jury selection, or
will the train derail before it even leaves the station again? I don’t envy this judge, having her first
death penalty trial be THIS trial. She’s
bound to draw criticism and praise with her decisions. I think most people just want to know that
the end to this 5+ year saga is coming to an end. So what does prosecutor Juan Martinez need to
focus on during the penalty retrial?
What could potentially sway the jury to the sentence the state is
seeking? Looking at the problems with
the first trial, it seems at least one juror who spoke publicly took some pity
on Arias, believing Travis Alexander did in fact verbally and emotionally abuse
her. This was based for the most part on
those angry text messages and e-mails from Travis to Jodi. I think the state needs to do a good job of
telling the jury WHAT could have prompted such angry responses from
Travis. I think many people believe Jodi
threatened to play that sex tape to the woman Travis was planning to take to
Cancun, and potentially other people within his circle of friends. She had to have known this would have
infuriated him, or anybody for that matter.
He had to be outraged and disgusted when he found out she recorded that
call in early May. He absolutely did not
ask for a phone sex tape.
What else
could have prompted him to tell Arias that she was absolutely the worst thing
that ever happened to him? Two days
before the 25 caliber gun was reported stolen from Arias’ grandfather’s home,
Travis sent Jodi a text message calling her evil. The sequence of events seems fairly clear,
although somewhat circumstantial – I don’t see Jodi Arias as a victim of
emotional or verbal abuse. Juan Martinez
needs to drive these points home, that Jodi Arias seems to be the only person
Travis Alexander spoke to in this manner and there was a reason behind it. Without delving into these reasons more, and
with the defense focusing on these angry exchanges it didn’t make Travis look
good. I believe it took a great deal of
deceit and disgust for him to get to that point with Arias, and by the time she
started to threaten to use his own words against him he had probably had it
with her. He undoubtedly regretted
letting the relationship go on as long as it did, and she played on his guilt
like she played Jury #1. The defense
also went to great lengths to portray Arias childhood as traumatic and
difficult. Her mom carried a wooden
spoon in her purse and beat her with it, and her father was an imposing figure
who was critical of Arias from an early age.
We never heard from anybody in the Arias family during the trial, and
you really have to wonder why. All we
have to go on is the parents (concerned) behavior during the police interviews,
and comments from those who knew the family growing up. I personally don’t recall hearing anybody even
hint that her parents were abusive. I
heard “strict”, but I think any parents who caught their child growing
marijuana on the roof of the house would have reason to be strict.
There’s no
doubt that Jodi Arias murdered Travis Alexander. She’s been found guilty of first degree murder,
and the jury found the manner in which she killed him was cruel and
depraved. These factors have been
decided. I hope the next jury panel will
look at the totality of this case, and remember that Travis Alexander was a
real man with a family and friends who loved him. Too often the victims seem to fade into the
background as all focus is placed on the defendant in an attempt to understand
why this happened. What could have
possibly caused Arias to unleash such fury, anger and utter violence towards a
man that she loved so much? People seem
to need to believe there was a triggering event, that somebody who outwardly
appears “normal” and incapable of such savage actions must have been pushed beyond
her limits. I suppose it helps us to
believe that something like this could never happen to ourselves or somebody we
love. But sometimes the person is the
problem. I think Jodi loved Travis so much that the rejection she faced from
the planned June 9 trip to Cancun was too much for her to mentally and emotionally
handle. But make no mistake, she planned
this. Why else go to the trouble of
stealing and concealing a gun? The May
text messages, e-mails and the phone sex tape are the key. Without Travis Alexander’s angry words to
Arias, what does the defense have to explain Arias’ alleged abuse? They have next to nothing. Take away those angry words by Travis and you
also take away the sympathy for Jodi.
No doubt
Juan Martinez is a seasoned pro in the courtroom. When Judge Stephens declared a mistrial, the
look of complete disappointment and total frustration was all over Juan
Martinez’s face. He wants to get justice for Travis and his family. You can tell he takes his cases very
seriously, all of them – not just the high profile cases. I think taking away the sympathy factor in
the re-trial will be on his to-do list.
Hopefully he has listened to media interviews given by those jurors who
spoke out following the mistrial and has learned from their words and their
points of view. Arias’ post-conviction media blitz may be another damaging
piece of evidence to be used at the retrial.
She would be wise to lay low. But
I seriously doubt that is going to happen!
By now she’s a fame junkie, looking for her next fix from behind bars
while she should be seriously considering the possibility that she may end up
on Arizona’s Death Row. If Jodi Arias
truly wants to live, she should give some serious thought to showing remorse,
being humble and taking full responsibility for the wake of destruction she
left in her path. She still hasn’t
offered a real apology. She continues to
sell “Survivor” t-shirts. She just doesn’t
seem to get it.
What will
happen during the next status hearing on August 26th? Will we get a firm date to begin the jury
selection process? Will there be a
change of venue? Will this jury be
sequestered? Will Jodi Arias put on real
mitigation witnesses this go around?
Will Jose Baez join Nurmi & Willmott at the defense table? Anything is possible with this trial! Have a great week.
