Holdout Juror Saves Arias From Death Row

First off, my apologies in advance as I'm having to post this using an iPad due to computer problems so I'm not able to type as fast and furiously as My mind would like to after the second disappointing NON VERDICT in the Jodi Arias penalty retrial.

Where do we even begin? This trial, in my opinion was one of the most poorly handled high profile murder cases I've ever seen or read of. Judge Sherry Stephens allowed this trial to be delayed longer than it should have, she allowed concessions to the defense at almost every turn - perhaps out of a misguided fear of having something overturned on appeal. The trial dragged on and the retrial dragged on nearly as long, did the time lapse between the vicious cold blooded and calculating murder and the actual criminal trial desensitize the perception of what she did to Travis?  How can such a savage and brutal murder NOT warrant capital punishment? This case should have been a prime example of why we have the death penalty as an option in Arizona!

I can't help but feeling that had Travis killed Jodi in the same manner under the same set of circumstances he would have been sentenced to death by the first jury. That's right...gender bias exists in death penalty cases, statistics don't lie but murder defendants do. The viewing public of concerned citizens should be outraged at all of the rights the convicted murderer has when compared to the ctual murder victim and the devastated families left behind to cope with their loss and the lack of justice and closure.

The Alexander family appeared completely shattered by the mistrial, knowing that after nearly 7 years of waiting for their day in court, Arias will be sentenced by a Judge...the same Judge who allowed their brother's name and reputation to be slaughtered much in the manner she used that knife and gun, only this time she used words and lies. The defense attorneys relied on stall tactics, sleazy and  highly questionable tales by a master manipulator who has managed to build her own empire while behind bars..is she remorseful?  I think she's only sorry she got caught. 

The one thing that has been openly communicated by many of Travis' family and friends is that they still take solace in believing Jodi Arias WILL someday answer to a much higher power. A power that can see through the lies and who knows exactly what took place in the early morning hours of June 4, 2008. She will be judged. Another thing to take solace in is that 11 of those jurors voted for death, only Juror #12 saw some redeeming quality or found that Jodi's mental issues made it impossible for her to cope with the unraveling relationship. The infuriating thing is the other jurors stated in their interviews with the media that this juror was dug in from day 1 of the deliberations and was really unwilling to debate or deliberate any of the issues with the rest of them. That is NOT the way juries deliberate. They voted on day 1 to get a sense of where they stood and Juror#12 was for life and never seriously considered changing her mind.

I believe a juror has the absolute right to stick with their convictions and should not allow themselves to be bullied into changing their vote just to get to a verdict. But when you have somebody on a jury who refuses to engage in deliberations and seems to have her mind absolutely made up and is so dug in from the start, you have a problem.  It has also been reported that this juror disclosed she had been a victim of emotional abuse with a husband oe ex husband during jury selection! How in the world did she even make the final cut in that pool of jurors nd alternates?

Another sad note is that one of the female jurors who was excused was not kicked off the jury, rather she was excused because her mother passed away, and she had to make funeral arrangements. Who knows what the outcome would have been had the alternate jurors been called in for deliberations? The overwhelming feelings from the jurors who woke to the media after the ministerial was declared expressed their sorrow and anguish that they were unable to secure the death penalty the other 11 jurors felt strongly that Arias deserved. Some of them wept and they were genuinely distraught and so apologetic to Travis' family..this affected them deeply and they fought for justice for Travis Alexander.  Twitter was abuzz with comments bout the mistrial, mostly outrage that there was a second hung jury. It's hard to comprehend that this case turned out the way it did, but it's a small victory for "Team Sleeze"...the defense attorneys in this case did everything they could to put Travis on trial and I hate that their lower than low tactics were successful.

So now we wait another month for Judge Stevens decision..life with the possibility of RELEASE after 25 years served or the more appropriate Natural life, which should ensure Arias will never have the opportunity to walk among us again.  But Jodivwill still have. Life to live, while Travis has been gone for years now. She will eventually be able to use good behavior to work her way into having more privileges in prison, she could get a job, get education and eventually she can work her way into the general population some day...gwith good behavior she will have access to activities she enjoys including craft rooms and I believe the prison even allows inmates to sell their wares at a store! I researched ll of this years ago and prison life is discussed in detail in an old post.

What more can I say? There's a lot more I want to say but will have to wait as this iPad isn't ideal for writing this way! Disappointment and disbelief is what we are left with. An empty feeling that justice is just out of reach..11-1 is hard to swallow. So close but yet so far. I'm so sorry for the family of friends of Travis. Please know that people did not believe the things Jodi said about your brother. He seems to have had countless friends an.d people he inspired and I think Travis will be remembered for his good heart and the people he helped and NOT for the man Team Sleeze tried to paint.

May God bless you and give you the strength and conviction to carry on - I hope you get to Arias in a wrongful death suit because I cannot stand to see how much money this woman is collecting from the blood of another..

My apologies for typos, no time to spellcheck!