Jodi Arias' Prison Life - the First Year

Well it's been a while since I've updated this blog. In addition to having no time, there has been little content of interest to write about. Unfortunately, there will undoubtedly be new crimes to discuss, but I think the Jodi Arias case and trial will remain one of the more interesting and memorable - for all the wrong reasons.

The murder shocked the public, and the defendant was a character unlike any I can recall. She seemingly loved the attention the crime and trial generated. She self promoted, she utilized social media from behind bars. She sold "artwork". She has had countless blogs, books and several movies and TV programs dedicated to coverage of her carnage.  She was the woman America loved to hate. She was the new Casey Anthony. 

Since Arias was sent to begin serving her prison term, there have been various stories posted mostly by sites such as Radar Online reporting on everything to her loss of privileges in prison for disrespecting a guard to publishing her commissary orders. The media dissects it all.  It's really not that interesting to see what she's eating in prison.  I'm more interested on hearing about any potential wrongful death lawsuits that are pending, and any appeals that are down the pike.

Books have been written by many true crime authors covering every aspect of the crime and the trial.  I was not surprised to see defense attorney Kirk Nurmi publish a book on what was probably the trial of his lifetime, but it did surprise me to see Prosecutor Juan Martinez publish one.  I suppose Jeff Ashton wrote about prosecuting Casey Anthony - these type of trials don't come along every day. 

Kirk Nurmi's feelings towards his client are obvious.  He feels he was forced to remain her attorney despite the fact that he wanted out.  Arias has gone both ways, fighting to keep him on as her attorney and then fighting to have him removed. She loved Jennifer Willmott and Maria de la Rosa, who to this day remains a little shady in my eyes.  I think she did things that could have gotten her into some big trouble, and I'm not sure if they ever investigated her involvement in Arias' online sales and fundraising.  She was busted removing art work from the Estrella jail for God's sake!  I did tend to like Jennifer Willmott, although I don't see how a seemingly bright woman could ever really believe the story Arias was trying to sell the jury and the world.

The latest rumors on the internet talk about Jodi Arias wanting a prison wedding.  Nothing has been confirmed and she would need approval for any type of ceremony.  This is probably just more of the same from the usual news outlets.  I'm sure she still has her admirers out there, and it wouldn't surprise me if she had prison proposals.  Arias has been appealing to her supporters to send books for the inmates to read, only "non-erotica" books.  She's concerned about appropriate content after all!

It's not surprising to me that Arias has also found the support of a rapper named Kareem "Lefty" Williams who penned a song about her.  I watched it recently, my curiosity got the best of me.  It's all about Jodi, the trial, domestic violence and PTSD.  If "Lefty" really believes Arias is not culpable of murder that's his right.  I disagree.  His music video shows various women holding up cards that say things like "PTSD is a real thing", "I am PTSD", "I'm a survivor of domestic violence" etc. You get the picture.  The video would send a positive message if I believed Arias was a victim in this case.  If your significant other puts you down, demeans you, uses you for sex and you feel you are not respected - you have the option of leaving. Just walk away. She was not married to Travis, she wasn't "trapped".  And the whole notion that the carnage she left behind in that house was self defense is what was so ludicrous to begin with.

Had Arias chose a different defense she may have been seen differently by the public who despise what she did and how she buried Travis Alexander in that courtroom.  Instead of honesty, she chose to accuse a man who can no longer speak of the most despicable things and her attempts to muddy his name earned her the honor of being one of America's most hated women.  Let's be rational.  Can a man be both a sex addict with women while having fantasies about young boys?  This was a ridiculous notion at trial.  This is the 21st century for one thing, who looks at a paper photo of a young boy in this day and age? Travis had a computer, if he was looking at child pornography that would've been the place to find it.

It's almost as if she thought to herself "how can I make him look as bad as possible and make people hate him enough to justify my actions"?  And this was the best she could come up with.  There may have been some emotional abuse, they probably never should have hooked up to begin with.  Once she realized he was probably using her for sex, she should've had the self respect to walk away.  Instead, she chose revenge and she will serve life in prison as a result.

That's about all I've got for now.  I wish I had more time to scour the internet and find more interesting trials to write about.  It's unfortunate we have so many murders and crimes in America and for some reason some of these trials just captivate us.  This was one of those crimes and trials.  I hope there won't be many more Jodi Arias' out there, but one thing is for sure - murders continue to occur in this country.  I worry about what that says about our society, where taking a life seems to come so easily.  Thankfully not everybody gets away with murder.  Juan Martinez thanks Arias for purchasing that extra gas can at WalMart for helping him put her away.

What a trial.  What a story.  Until next time, enjoy your week!