Did Expert Witness Testimony Effect Sentencing in Jodi Arias Trial?

What effect did the expert witness testimony ultimately have on the outcome of the Jodi Arias murder trial?  Although Arias was found guilty of first degree murder, in the end the jury was split on sentencing 8-4 in favor of the death penalty – in Arizona, even a 11-1 split equals a hung jury.  The jury rejected the self defense claims and agreed an aggravating factor existed making this case eligible for capital punishment.  That much we know.  But how is it that those same jurors could end up so divided on punishing Travis Alexander’s murderer?

Jodi Arias spent an unprecedented 18 days on the witness stand, and post verdict interviews with jurors confirmed the defendant didn’t make a good witness.  She contradicted herself, butted heads with prosecutor Juan Martinez, and tried her best to paint Travis in the worst light possible while claiming to want to preserve his memory and character.  She was caught in numerous lies and inconsistencies by the time Martinez got his shot at her.  But it seems at least one juror believed that Arias had in fact been the victim of some type of abuse at Alexander’s hands.  Although there was no documented reports of the abuse incidents Arias spun into her testimony, her journals and personal diaries made no mention of being kicked, body slammed or slapped, the defense brought in a maverick for the cause of domestic violence in Alyce LaViolette to testify on Arias’ behalf.  She told the jury she believed Travis did abuse Jodi, while discounting any direct evidence that Arias engaged in stalking behavior with Travis.

How did this impact the jurys ability to hand down the death penalty?  Dr. Richard Samuels was another defense expert who was clearly in the Arias camp and testified to her favor that she suffered from PTSD.  However, prosecutor Juan Martinez effectively neutralized Samuels testimony by pointing out numerous errors and omissions in Samuels scoring of critical psychological tests that supported a PTSD diagnosis – he also was effective in suggesting Samuels was “taken” by Arias, bringing her gifts in the form of books during his jailhouse interviews with her.  Dr. Samuels failed to sway the jury and was criticized for his sloppy reporting methods as he was unable to explain why he hand scored the tests multiple times until he achieved the desired results.

Alyce LaViolette initially appeared to be a good witness for the defense. Her credentials and legitimate early work in the field of domestic violence gave her credibility and she was a likeable character during her first few days on the stand while being questioned by the defense.  LaViolette became combative during her cross examination with Juan Martinez, refusing to answer questions in a yes/no manner, talking over the prosecutor and she grew increasingly more defensive of her interview tactics as her days on the stand stretched into weeks. The biggest problem I had with LaViolette is that she firmly formed an opinion on Arias being abused based only on the written and spoken words of Jodi Arias.  She didn’t interview close friends or family members of Arias or Alexander who may have provided her with a way to prove or disprove her findings or corroborate what Arias told her about the complex relationship she had with Travis.

Then we learned that LaViolette had spent more hours with Arias than was clinically necessary, and had also given her books and reading materials that could have furnished her with a blueprint to support her in court performance as a domestic abuse survivor.  LaViolette refused to entertain the thought that Arias may have played her like a fiddle, she told the jury she fully believed everything Arias told her without question.  That’s where she lost all credibility in my book.  Believing the words of a woman with everything to lose is a dangerous proposition and to this day, I don’t understand why LaViolette would jeopardize her standing in her field for Jodi Arias.  Many of the jury questions seemed to ask these same questions regarding the methods of both expert witnesses, and there was no evidence to indicate there was any physical abuse. 

I read an article recently written by Michael J. Perrotti PhD that outlined some of these problems in psychcentral.com (link provided below).  Perrotti has served as a clinical and forensic neuropsychologist expert for more than 20 years and he wrote of many omissions of crucial standards in the Jodi Arias trial. He points to the lack of collateral interviews of third party informants such as family and friends, who could have provided valuable perspective on the person being evaluated.   He states “collateral parties can help confirm or disconfirm the evaluators impressions.  This did not appear to be done in the Arias’s trial”.   An evaluation of only the defendant can be weighted towards the defendant’s self-report.

He wrote “it is difficult to understand how Arias was considered a victim of abuse when there did not appear to be any police reports or documented incidents of domestic violence.  Additionally, there did not appear to be any consideration of her abusive behavior (for example, she was alleged to have slashed the tires on the victims car and peeked into the window of the victim’s house).”  He also pointed to the experts focus on PTSD and memory issues and not neuropsychological issues.  Perrotti also believes the purchase and filling of the gas cans were a sign of her pre-meditation.   “It is important to integrate the physical findings at the crime scene with the psychological profile of the defendant”, he wrote. “None of the experts appeared to have evaluated or considered crime scene evidence with their findings”.

Perrotti specifically points to Alyce LaViolette’s testimony that the report of Arias peeking into Alexander’s window while he was with another woman was not stalking as “difficult to understand” given the research of “The Reference Manual For Scientific Evidence”, which defines stalking as “to annoy or harass, with fear being a main component”.  What I found most important in Perrotti’s article was his take on the importance of an the evaluator being an objective expert and avoiding the appearance of bias.  Having two separate experts giving Arias books is seen as problematic, and one expert apologizing to the defendant for reading her diary/journals as another potential conflict.  “It is difficult to understand how this occurred when contraband is not allowed in correctional facilities”, he wrote.  The RMSE provides guidelines for what evaluators should do when deception is detected from a defendant.  He firmly believes there were significant omissions by the defense experts in the Arias case.  I think it’s important to note that the prosecution’s expert, Dr. Janeen DeMarte seemed to follow the guidelines in making a fair and impartial assessment of the defendant.  She spent enough time to evaluate Arias, but not enough time to form a relationship with her.  She made no apologies, and she didn’t feel the need to bring her any reading materials to pass her time in jail!  In my opinion, she was the only expert who was credible whatsoever.  Thankfully, the jury found her guilty of first degree murder – but it’s fair to wonder if the sentencing phase outcome was effected by Alyce LaViolette’s firm belief in Arias as an abuse victim.

As the August 26^th status hearing approaches, I wonder if Arias’ post guilty verdict jailhouse ventures will figure into the mitigation case.  She appears to be trying to make good on her campaign speech to jury #1 by starting an online book club of sorts – more of a book review website in reality.  But I have faith in Juan Martinez, and I’m hoping he will quickly point out the same website is accepting donations for Arias’ commissary account and has links to other supporter run sites where donations are taken for her families travel expenses to and from court, and she has made an undisclosed amount of money from her artwork and those Survivor t-shirts.  Such the humanitarian.  With two new books based on Arias’ life and the trial, a Lifetime movie that already came out and reports of a new made-for-tv movie in the works, I’m afraid Jodi Arias isn’t disappearing from the spotlight any time soon.  The penalty retrial could take weeks, if not months. I’m not familiar enough with a penalty do-over to make an educated guess on how long this could run, but the sooner this case is put to rest the better.

Judge Sherry Stephens, do the right thing and get this retrial scheduled and keep it moving.  The victim may not be here, but he has rights too.  The link to the Michael Perrotti article is listed below.  While it’s nothing new, it’s an interesting read nonetheless.  Have a great weekend!

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/07/24/jodi-arias-trial-the-importance-of-forensic-psychology-guidelines/

Arias Defense Motion To Vacate Jury's Finding Of Aggravating Factor Denied

Jodi Arias’ defense attorneys motion to vacate the jury’s finding of an aggravating factor in her murder trial has been denied by Judge Sherry Stephens.  Kirk Nurmi’s motion challenged the landmark 2002 Ring v. Arizona Supreme Court ruling finding that allowing the sentencing judge, without a jury, to find aggravating circumstances necessary for the imposition of the death penalty violated the Federal Constitution’s Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.

The motion was always a stretch, but the defense’s motion argued that the jury lacked the legal knowledge and expertise to recognize what made a particular murder more cruel and heinous than another.  With the motion denied, the trial jury’s finding of the aggravating factor stands – making Arias eligible for the death penalty when her sentencing retrial begins.  The next status hearing is scheduled for August 26, 2013.

As Arias sits in jail waiting to learn her fate, she continues to promote books and magazines she has received from her “supporters”.  Her latest tweet says she’s maxed out on the number of books she’s allowed to have, so if you were considering sending her one, don’t! Yeah, that was meant to be sarcastic.  The murderer turned humanitarian says “when Jodi finishes reading, at her request, every book, periodical and newspaper she receives are donated to less fortunate inmates”.  Potential jury pool, did you hear that?

It seems people are at odds at whether the State of Arizona should go through with the time and expense of choosing a new jury for sentencing.  I feel that since expense was not a consideration in Arias’ defense during the guilt phase, it’s only fair that Travis Alexander have the same consideration in sparing no expense to ensure a jury decides his killer’s fate.  It’s the law in Arizona, like it or not – a jury, not a judge decides.  Unless the second jury deadlocks, at which time the death penalty is taken off the table since a judge cannot impose it.  I suppose we should take some solace in knowing the most lenient sentence she could receive is life with the possibility for release after serving 25 years.  Having the possibility of release doesn’t mean she will be released, it just makes it a possibility. 

The decision will ultimately come down to the decision of County District Attorney Bill Montgomery’s office and the Alexander family’s input will be of great importance.  I think the defense is hoping these delays in sentencing will serve as a cooling off period in the court of public opinion, and they hope people will lose interest in this case and it’s outcome.  I don’t think that is going to happen.  While it appears Arias has people who support her while in jail, the public’s shock and sorrow over what happened to Travis Alexander is not going to fade until Arias has been sentenced and sent to prison.

What will happen at the next status hearing?  Will Judge Stephens set a firm date to begin jury selection?  Will the prosecution do anything differently during jury selection to ensure they have a death penalty qualified jury?  I’m not going to criticize the first jury on their decision, mostly because I wasn’t in the jury room and didn’t hear their arguments.  It can’t be easy to sentence somebody to death, but they clearly knew it would be a possibility in this trial.  I don’t know what prosecutor Juan Martinez could have done differently.  The State put on a great case, the defense offered no REAL mitigation – yet the jury deadlocked.  Sentencing can’t be put off forever.  There will be justice for Travis.

Convicted Murderer Jodi Arias Has A Online Book Club?

Think you’ve seen or heard it all when it comes to the behind-bars antics of Ms. Jodi Ann Arias?  Think again! The convicted murderer now has her own online book club!  Yes, you heard me correctly – another website somehow controlled by a “close custody” inmate!  When will it stop, and how is it being allowed to happen?  Never in my life have I seen a convicted murderer have so much control of social media from behind bars – while I don’t know if she is breaking any laws by (obviously) having somebody create and maintain these websites displaying and selling her “artwork”, t-shirts and whatever else she’s hawking these days.  What’s next, Tupperware?  Avon?  Amway?

The convicts’ newest online venture is Jodispage.com, and it’s a bright yellow website with a big picture of Arias, in the infamous white hooded parka – holding her beloved camera, atop some snowy mountaintop.  The audacity. The nerve.  The never-ending self promotion.  Please make it stop!

The site currently includes 7 books and includes pictures of the book cover, information on the author and publishing company as well as Jodi’s personal review of the book.  Looks like at least one of the books was sent or given to her by somebody on the outside.  She names the person, which may be bad news for the sender of said book!  There are notations such as “Jodi is currently reading” on the books she has yet to finish reading, and her literary opinions of the ones that she has read.  So now she’s an Oprah wanna- be, or a literary critic?  Her twisted and fictitious resume continues to astonish me. 

How is it that she has managed to accomplish more from behind bars than she did from the free world? On this site, her recent tweets are posted, and she thanks somebody named HeinzFrick for “Jodi’s Page”.  An August 6^th tweet from Arias mentions Lifetimes movie as “a hatchet job”, and she openly calls for producers “interested in making a film about the truth”.  Yes, she is soliciting movie offers on Twitter now.  In addition to her recent tweets, the site has a Q & A page, where she instructs people how to fund her commissary account, send her mail – and specific information on sending books, magazine subscriptions, and instructions on how people can visit her in jail!  Has your jaw hit the floor yet? She includes links to her artwork that is for sale, and of course that “Survivor” t-shirt.  The art website lists what appears to be a phony address of 333 Fun St., San Francisco, CA 12345 under “Contact Us”, and the telephone and fax number listed are both 123-456-7890. Is this her attempt at being humorous?

Does anybody else find this behavior completely outrageous?  How can an INMATE operate so many outside websites and continue to sell things?  Or is this a ploy in anticipation of her penalty phase retrial, where she can use the promise of book clubs and recycling programs in prison as mitigating factors to keep her off Death Row?  You be the judge!  I am just at a loss for words.  And it takes a lot for that to happen to me.  It’s like she’s living in the Twilight Zone, unaware that she’s in jail for MURDERING another human being. Jail and prison are punishment, not a place to launch a reality show.  Somebody please make it go away! Sheriff Joe, where are you?  Are these shenanigans protected by free speech? Just seems wrong, that’s all – plain and simple. An inmate should not be able to use their incarceration as a launching pad to online infamy.

In other Arias related news, Jane Valez Mitchell’s new book titled “Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias” hits the book stores on August 20, 2013 and has been getting rave reviews.  It promises shocking and disturbing new information about the convicted murderer and her revenge plot against Travis Alexander – using sex as a means to get close enough to kill.  Included in the book are “Five lessons learned from the Jodi Arias trial”.  To summarize:

   1)    Don’t sleep with the enemy!

        2)  Pathological liars are very dangerous people

      3)    Be wary of people with transient lifestyles.  Jodi Arias couldn’t hold a job for long, moved from place to place and from man to man.  From an early age, Arias moved from Yreka to Santa Maria, to Medford OR, to Big Sur, to Palm Desert, to Mesa and back to Yreka. During this time frame, she held numerous miscellaneous waitressing jobs. JVM says this is a symptom of borderline personality disorder, characterized by her inability to fit in.  Jane’s advice:  when you begin dating somebody new, it’s important to get a real sense of where they come from, what they do for a living and where they have been in their lives. As an added rule of thumb, she suggests getting an in-depth bio prior to getting too romantically involved with a person.

    4)   TRUST YOUR GUT INSTINCTS! Perhaps the most important of this list, it is so important to trust your own intuition.  We heard throughout the trial that 90% of all communication is non-verbal.  Many of Travis’ friends reported having bad vibes about his new love interest, some referring to her as “creepy”.  They were able to see what he didn’t, couldn’t – or chose to ignore. There were many clues pointing to a mentally and emotionally unstable woman. Travis’ friends tried in vain to convey their feelings that something was off with Arias. They felt she was unbalanced and perhaps even dangerous.  Trust your friends opinions.  They always have your best interest at heart.

    5)     WOMEN CAN BE VIOLENT!  Towards the end of their relationship, Travis expressed fear of Jodi. Some of his friends believe he may have been lured into a false sense of security by her petite stature. Statistics also show that violent crimes are mostly perpetrated by men, not women. Perhaps that’s why America was so fascinated with women on trial for violent crimes?  It’s not the norm, thankfully.  However, it’s certainly and sadly not unheard of.

“Exposed” is expected to be one of the most provocative crime books this year, packed with exclusive new information and psychological insight.  A portion of the profits are going to charity.  Jane Valez Mitchell dedicated this book to victim Travis Alexander and his siblings.  Should be an interesting read.  Hey, maybe it will earn a mention on Arias’ book club website?  Wouldn’t that be ironic…….

Can we please empanel a new jury and get this show on the road?  What’s next, a Jodi Arias action figure?  Rental-car, .25 caliber gun and camera sold separately.  Sorry, I hope that didn’t offend anybody but I couldn’t resist.  The last thing I’d ever want to do is to make light of this tragic murder.  Those of you who have been following this blog know that. 

 I personally feel Arias continues to exploit her name recognition – even though for most people in America, her name is more associated with evil than anything else to further her own agenda.  She wants the pool of potential jurors to see “all the people she could help” while in prison. The book club was mentioned in her mitigation multi-media slide show/campaign speech.  If anybody has any ideas on measures we can take to ensure any/all sales this convicted felon makes make it into the hands of the victim’s family – please speak up.  Let’s put our collective minds together and be sure she is not profiting from the murder of another human being.

Jodi Arias Saga - Another Book and Movie Coming Out?

It’s been a while since my last post, and I must admit that I truly miss interacting with the people who visited this blog!  Unfortunately, crime never seems to take a day off and murders continue to happen across the country each and every day.  The murder of Travis Alexander seemed to effect many people, complete strangers like you and I – whether it be because of the extremely violent way in which he was killed, the psychopathic traits of his killer or a little of both?  It was a topic that outraged and intrigued us.  How rare is it to have evidence of an attack digitally memorialized?  The facts of the case and the tragic way things unfolded for a seemingly normal couple may be what captivated so many. 

The trial was a long time in the making, and although Jodi Arias is officially a convicted murderer the tale is still unfolding.  The retrial of the penalty phase of the trial is off somewhere in the distance, and after what felt like 24/7 non-stop television and online coverage of the trial, it seems like time is standing still as we wait for justice to take its course.  The story has spawned numerous true crime books and a Lifetime movie – and guess what?  Rumor has it there is another book, written by TV anchor Jane Valez Mitchell called “Exposed – The Secret Life of Jodi Arias” coming out in late August.  Jane Valez Mitchell covered the trial extensively for the HLN network and recently made news herself after a 48 year old man from Bath, NY was arrested for making death threats against her and fellow anchor Nancy Grace!

David Lee Simpson was arrested and charged with 5 felony counts in association with the death threats made against the anchors via Twitter.  Simpson has the hots for Arias, and was infuriated by the media coverage during the trial.  In addition to the threatening tweets, Simpson allegedly repeated the threats to co-workers and was eventually indicted by a grand jury on 7/19/13.  Simpson quit his job and headed out of town with guns, ammunition, knives, handcuffs and zip ties in his car.  All weapons were recovered when Simpson was pulled over and arrested before he made it to his destination, believed to be the state of Georgia where Nancy Grace lives.  People either love Nancy Grace, or they hate her.  There seems to be little middle ground where Nancy is concerned, but I’m glad law enforcement in Arizona took the threats seriously and got to Simpson before he could harm anybody.

Back to Jane Valez’ new book….  JVM told USA Today she wanted to write a book about how the intense sexual relationship between Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander turned toxic.  She said “after reading ‘Exposed’, readers will understand that Jodi tried to make Travis responsible for her own happiness, and when that failed, he became her obsession, and if she couldn’t have him, no one could”.  There is also another TV movie reportedly in the works.  I couldn’t find any casting information or release dates, but like “Dirty Little Secrets”, the role of Arias is being described as highly sexual, and the actor who lands the role will “need to be comfortable being depicted in very kinky, highly sexual and physically violent scenes”. 

According to the Maricopa County Superior Court website, the next status conference for the retrial is scheduled for August 26, 2013 at 8:30AM.  I noticed on the court minutes the mitigation specialist assigned to this case is now listed as Sue Stodo.  I’m not sure what happened to the previous mitigation specialist, Maria De La Rosa?  We know from court documents that she was paid for at least 100 hours for her work during the guilt phase of the trial - yet when it came time to actually present mitigation – it seems the Arias defense team fell flat on their faces!  I wonder if she signed off on Jodi’s multimedia presentation to the jury, or if she had some other mitigation strategy in mind that her difficult client wouldn’t agree to?  Who knows!  It’s unclear why she was replaced, but I’m willing to bet there’s a story behind the move!

For Travis’ family, this must seem like a nightmare that will never end.  On what would have been Travis’ 36^th birthday, family and friends gathered in Phoenix and did something Travis was known to do as often as he could – they handed out 400 care packages to people in need, in memory of their brother. The care packages contained water, food, clothes and essential hygiene products.  What a thoughtful and fitting way to remember their beloved brother on his birthday.  It’s nice to hear some positive things being done in his memory, after the relentless attack on his character by Jodi Arias and her defense team. 

What will happen at the next status conference?  Will Nurmi & Willmott file a motion to delay the retrial until 2020?  Will they request the trial be moved to Kansas?  Will Arias try to hire Dr. Ruth as an expert or mitigation witness?  Only time will tell, and as we all have grown to accept – anything is possible in this trial!  Until next time……

Jodi Arias Trial - Who's Following The Cash?

It’s been almost two months since a Phoenix jury found Jodi Arias guilty of first degree murder for killing Travis Alexander.  She is now a convicted felon and should not be able to profit in any manner from the notoriety of her crime – and boy was her crime notorious.   The majority of people facing such serious charges resulting from such an unthinkable act of violence against another human being would lay low and perhaps take some time to reflect on what happened, how they ended up behind bars and how they could have possibly taken another human beings life away from them.  Apparently Jodi Arias is not one of the majority.

Of the many things that make Jodi Arias such an unlikeable defendant is the manner in which she has conducted herself while awaiting trial.  The shameless media interviews, the numerous lies about how Travis Alexander ended up dead in that shower, the vile and unproven allegations she made about him being a sexual deviant – the list goes on.  Her use of social media and the internet has been unbelievable.  How does a woman behind bars have multiple websites pawning her wares and accepting donations on her behalf, ensuring she has plenty of honey buns and other commissary items to make her comfortable in jail? 

This is the same woman who told the taxpayers she was indigent and couldn’t afford her own legal representation.  So she got a $2,000,000 defense team.  While it’s unknown exactly how much Arias has made since her arrest back in July of 2008 through her online art auctions, her website that sells her “original artwork” as well as “limited edition” copies of certain pieces (“due to popular demand!”), her rip-off originally designed “Survivor” t-shirts and outright donations.  Although in poor taste, I don’t believe it was outright illegal before she was convicted of this crime.  Everything should have changed with the guilty verdict.  Has it?  Her website is still up and running, and although some of the pieces of display say “not for sale”, there are plenty of pieces that are – prices are listed.  What’s even more disturbing is that people can buy these using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover Cards and others.  Do these big corporations know who they are enabling?

Once she was convicted of murder, any and all proceeds from these type of activities should be going to the Arizona Industrial Commission where the family of the victim can file a claim to get these proceeds.  Arias’ Survivor t-shirts are still for sale.  Who’s monitoring these monetary transactions?  Will Arias be able to funnel that money to her family before the state figures out what’s been going on?  It’s difficult to say how much she has received purely from donations.  Arias is still tweeting from behind bars, although she assured her followers that Donovan Bering is not the facilitator.  Guess that became a problem since she’s also a convicted felon – no doubt the outraged public was responsible for bringing that to the attention of the appropriate parties. 

Arias’ twitter account tells the story.  On May 13, 2013 she tweeted to remind her supporters that donations to her family or to her should only be made via her supporter website that I won’t name here. You know the one I’m referring to.  Should she be accepting or receiving donations at all after May 8^th? What gives? As you probably know, on June 22 she tweeted that she is not currently accepting donations for appeals, apparently she is unsure if she will “plea or appeal”. Her words, not mine!  And her latest tweet, made 20 hours ago “A lawyer is someone who profits from your experience”.  Deep thoughts.  So who’s in charge of monitoring these sales, the money movement and ensuring it doesn’t ultimately end up in the hands of the felon or her family members?  Does anybody know?  The Alexander family has retained attorneys for their wrongful death civil suit against Jodi Arias. That will be a slam dunk now that she has been found guilty.  My concern is that she’s moving money out of the reach of the Alexanders. It would be nice to know that someone is watching and monitoring her activities, these web sales and donations.  Crime should never ever pay!  What can we do as concerned citizens do to ensure criminals aren’t compensated for their notoriety?  Does anybody have any ideas?  

Status Hearing Today - Jodi Arias Penalty Phase

Well folks, it's already June 20th.  It seems like it's been a long time since Jodi Arias was convicted of first degree murder for the brutal slaying of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.  Maybe it was the continuous news coverage that drew us all in for more than five months (some of us for 5 years), but I think everyone who's been following this trial and the tragedy that caused it feels a deep sense of sorrow that this thing is still out there, unresolved.

It was highly dissatisfying to have Arias convicted but not sentenced.  We all watched, read, and listened to the trial and could almost feel the family's pain every time the court cameras panned to their faces. Their grief is heavy, yet they were asked not to react as the horrible photographs of their brother were enlarged and displayed, his wonderful qualities downplayed by the defense who sought to paint him as the bad guy. In the end, Arias got the verdict she deserved and that much was satisfying. It could have been worse, the jury could have bought into her self-defense nonsense and convicted her of something less than what she received. It was never likely to happen, but then again - did anybody believe Casey Anthony or OJ Simpson would walk? 

So here we are again, waiting to hear what will come out of today's status hearing. At least three members of the original Arias trial jury were expected to attend today's hearing. The jurors who were in favor of the death penalty for Arias have been speaking out on the emotional toll the trial had on them, and they really want to see a resolution to this tragedy. 

As you know, the defense is asking the judge to delay the penalty retrial until January of 2014, citing scheduling conflicts and time needed to prepare witnesses to speak on behalf of Jodi Arias.  Juan Martinez objected to the defense's request of pushing this thing out until 2014, rather he suggested the court could accommodate defense counsel's scheduling conflict AND the defendants desire to call witnesses by rescheduling the trial for July 30, 2013.  Seems like a fair compromise to me.

We all know that delays happen, but how would pushing this back another 6 months help?  Does the defense think the jury pool will be any different in January of 2014? "Impartial" means "impartial". They have to find an impartial jury - at this point, people either are familiar with this case or they aren't.  They don't have to have lived under a rock for the last year, the just need to have the ability to be impartial. 

I've been trying to find out what time the status hearing is scheduled for today, but so far no luck.  I'm hoping to see or hear something on the hearing later today.  "Dirty Little Secrets" is set to air on Lifetime this Saturday, June 22, and I've read some fairly decent reviews on the depiction. According to USA Today.com, the movie is better than expected - and only approximately 15 minutes of the movie focuses on the courtroom drama. This movie is about more about the relationship, not the trial.

In other crime news, I just read about the arrest of 44 year old Ana Trujillo in Houston.  Trujillo was arrested and charged with murder for the killing of her former boyfriend, 59 year old Professor Stefan Andersson in early June.  Andersson worked as a research professor at the University of Houston and was reportedly stabbed more than 30 times with Trujillo's stiletto shoe after a late night/early morning argument.  Trujillo is claiming self defense. Is it any surprise this is already being called "the Stiletto Heel Murder"? I'm sure we will hear more on this unusual killing in the weeks to come.

What will today's status hearing bring?  Will Arias refuse to be photographed in her jailhouse stripes? Will Willmott and Nurmi continue to ask to be removed as her attorneys of record? Will Judge Stephens keep this train on time and on the rails? Will Arias finally take her attorneys advice and stay out of the media spotlight, or will she continue to peddle her t-shirts - which in my book is despicable, in poor taste and beyond comprehension? Will her next "cause" be Animal Shelters, after all - we know about that dog she kicked to the point that it ran away from her childhood home, and wasn't there a cat she was supposed to care for but instead left alone for a week?

Let's hope so. Travis' siblings have made it clear that they are ready to go back to trial, calling this a marathon and not a race. They are in it for as long as it takes, for Travis - they know he would do the same for them.  God bless them and may we keep them in our prayers.  More information on the status hearing when it becomes available. Have a great day!

Jodi Arias Attorneys Ask Judge To Delay Retrial Until Next Year!

It's been a while since my last posting - I was out of town for a week, and hadn't seen much in the way of new information. As the June 20th status hearing nears, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery stated during a recent news conference they are still preparing to move forward to retry the penalty phase in the Jodi Arias murder trial. Jury selection is slated to begin on July 18, 2013, however, Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi are asking the judge to delay the retrial until next year!

They apparently have some scheduling conflicts with the July 18th date, but also claim to need additional time to gather witnesses to testify on Arias' behalf - so they are asking for a delay until next January in order to "find an alternate means of painting the picture of Arias' life to jurors", according to cbsnews.com.  Umm, didn't they HAVE witnesses lined up and scheduled to testify during the penalty phase?  It's unfortunate that their client muddied the waters so much that many of those potential character witnesses could not testify without exposing something Arias lied about or something they did that could potentially embarrass them or weaken their own credibility, but how is that the court's problem?

I would also argue that after 5 years, these attorneys and Jodi Arias have had plenty of time to prepare for the trial and have been granted numerous delays already.  It's time to see this through and put an end to the horrible legal limbo the Alexander family has been living in! It seems so unfair that the victim seemingly has no right to a speedy resolution to their murder. Outrageous.  Radaronline.com recently reported that Ms. Arias has not been the model prisoner her attorneys would have us all believe.  She may not have had an actual criminal record prior to committing one of the most vicious murders in recent history, but her behind-bars behavior includes at least 14 infractions including attacking another inmate. Apparently the Sheriff's office was very concerned with Arias being able to move freely around the courtroom and into the judges chambers without handcuffs during trial. He was worried enough to voice their concerns to the court about potential escape attempts by Arias.

Tanisha Sorenson's husband Harold recently posted a message to supporters on the Justice4Travis Facebook page.  He wrote that while the family is emotionally drained, they are overwhelmingly grateful to the court, Judge Stephens, the jurors and especially Prosecutor Juan Martinez.  The family will be meeting with Attorney General Bill Montgomery soon and hopefully they will cement their plans to seat a second jury.

Finally, we are hearing from a juror who voted for life during the penalty phase, and I'm talking about jury foreman Bill Zervokos - otherwise known as Juror #18.  Several of the jurors who voted for death have spoken out, but those who voted for life have been relatively silent - possibly fearing their vote was not a popular one.  Mr. Zervokos seems to have fallen for Arias' abuse tales.  He voted for a life sentence citing multiple mitigating factors including Arias' age, lack of criminal history, her dysfunctional family and most notably "abuse"! He said, and I quote "you don't put people to death for being stupid, you don't put people to death for lying".  I'm sorry Juror #18, but if that's all you took away from the five month trial, I question whether or not you were paying close enough attention.

What about Travis Alexander, shouldn't his age, lack of criminal history and dysfunctional family be just as much of a factor? He went through considerably more than Arias did as a child and didn't grow up and butcher another human being. I don't understand our criminal justice system, sometimes it just seems to fail and those committing these heinous acts have more rights and considerations than the person they murdered.  The criminal's rights are protected at all costs, there is a blank check given to defend them and yet they can sit in their jail cell and sell artwork and collect donations from the public.  What's wrong with this system? What value/worth is being put on Travis Alexander's life? He was a very young man. He had potential, he had people who loved him - sure, he wasn't perfect but who is? Why is Jodi Arias' life given so much more value than his was? I know that nothing can bring back the murder victim, but it seems more and more that their rights get buried with them.

What will happen during the June 20 status hearing? Will Arias be granted her delay? Will Willmott and Nurmi remain on as her council?  I hope the judge forges forward and holds them to these dates. Enough with the delays, 5 years is long enough and they should have had their witnesses and strategy in place for the penalty phase a long time ago! Their mitigation specialist billed the state for 100 hours that we are aware of. Isn't that her job specifically, to figure out how to handle that phase of the trial?

That's all for now.  The George Zimmerman trial starts this month - does anybody know if that trial is going to be televised?  Have a great weekend!