Jodi Arias Trial – Verdicts

I haven’t blogged, or even written an article, about this case in weeks. I started a new job and didn’t want to spend my free time writing about a case that I was already spending so much time in following in the news during my spare time. I DO want to blog about my feelings about the outcome, though, if for no other reason than to have a record of how I felt when I read this two years from now. 😀

So here goes!

First of all, I am pleased as punch that the jury was able to reach the verdict of GUILTY on the count of premeditated, First Degree Murder! In my opinion, that was the most important decision that they reached. I know that this had to have been a great relief to the Alexander family and I do hope that, in the long run, this verdict will help in giving them something that at least resembles closure. It was the right, JUST decision!

Now, to the tough part – The jury hangs during the penalty phase.

Honestly, I knew that when the jury came back and stated that they were unable to reach an unanimous decision after only a few hours into deliberation, that they were not going to be able to render a verdict. I held out some hope that they would ultimately reach a verdict, if for no other reason than to bring an end to this saga for the family, but sadly that didn’t happen.

I know that many out there are incensed with the jury, but remember – this is the same jury that DID find her guilty of FDM. They all believe that what she did was especially cruel. They just did not all agree that she should be put to death. Call me some kind of idealist, but I like to think that this is what helps separate us from monsters like Arias. It SHOULD be difficult to decide to kill someone – whether it is a legal form of killing or not. With that said, if there is anyone who deserves to go to Death Row for their crime – IT IS JODI ARIAS! 

Obviously, some members of the jury did buy the idea that Arias had mitigating factors that negated the punishment of death. Was it also the eighteen days on the stand? Well, one ex-juror as well as the jury foreman said that it didn’t help her. They felt that it hurt her because the longer she was up there, the more caught up she got in her lies. Personally, I think that her being on the stand could have had a subconscious effect on them. Unless she had gotten on the  stand and behaved like a raging bitch from the time she got up there to the time she got off, it would be hard for them to completely loathe her.

I know, I know, the vast majority of the public thinks – “Just look at what she did to Travis! It doesn’t matter how she behaved on the stand!” I understand that point of view, truly, I do. But… Jodi Arias PUT ON AN ACT the ENTIRE time she was in front of the jury. She pulled a Casey Anthony. When the jury was in the room, it was all weepy eyes, meek looks, lowering her chair to look smaller than “Wilma,” stalking them with doe eyes, wearing her hair like she is 12 instead of 32, covering her face and crying anytime she caught glimpse of Travis’s slaughtered corpse, so on and so forth. She was always “on” in front of the jury.  I will also say that I  can imagine that it is quite different, from the jury box, when the defendant is sitting right in front of you (or standing before you trembling as they “plead for their life”). What we, at home, know is an act may have been seen as genuine emotion by the jury. So, I can imagine that it is harder to see her as a beast under those conditions, even knowing what she did to Travis.

The foreman said that he believes that Travis was verbally and mentally abusive to Arias. Well, that’s just disappointing… Upsetting, really. Still, we have to remember that if the jury truly adhered to the admonitions set forth by the judge, then there is no way for them to really grasp the context of those text messages and emails, or even the infamous phone sex recording. They weren’t privy to the information given by Travis’s friends and family in the way that the public was. They weren’t given possible scenarios of why Travis would comment about Arias sounding like a twelve-year-old girl having her first orgasm, or wanting to tie her to a tree in the forest.  Fact is, it made him sexually depraved. Especially to older people who may not be as open to the thought of wild forest sex. I mean, do you think they read Twilight or watch True Blood? If anything, that sex tape probably should have never been allowed in, but that’s another story altogether.

So, yes, when we as the public hear the things that Travis said to Arias, it comes across differently because we have more background and can better give it context. In the end, if we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that if we heard the things that Travis said to her without having the opportunity that we have had to get to who he was, through his friends and family, we would have a negative visceral reaction to it as well. Personally, I still have a very negative reaction to the things that he said during that phone sex call. But this just brings me back to my blog post about Travis not having to be a perfect victim. The fact that he wasn’t perfect doesn’t mean that that should have any effect on the punishment that his killer receives.

The last two paragraphs is probably highlights one of my biggest problems with this trial. The defense was able to somewhat control the character that Arias presented in a way that the state was not able to do for Travis. The state wasn’t able to really parade about the good qualities of Alexander, but the defense was able to slander his character. There was no expert to get on the stand to explain why Travis said the things he said in the phone sex tape or diminish its effects. There wasn’t enough to counteract the defense’s character assassination and that character assassination may be the very thing that keeps Arias from death row. For me, it was beyond frustrating that the jury didn’t really get to hear about the good things Travis did in life. The Victim Impact Statements did that to a degree, but by that time it was probably too late to sway someone who already held the belief that Alexander was verbally abusive. At the time of the VIS, I actually wondered if they should have had more people speak. I am not sure what the procedure is, if the family thought that just having two representatives would be suitable, or what. I do wish some of his friends could have gotten up there and really drill home the person that they knew. As they say, hindsight… etc…

Finally, we also have to consider that the jurors who voted for life may have been considering Arias’s family. Maybe seeing her point them out and say that she wanted to live for them made it harder for them to sentence her to death. Maybe they felt as if they would just be adding another layer of pain to an already painful situation. These are things that we won’t know until more of the jurors decide to speak out for themselves. The foreman did say that some felt that the death penalty should be reserved for the likes of serial killers and it was an unfair decision for 12 average citizens. Really??? WHAT? (OK, I just read about that comment from the foreman. I am going to move on before I turn into one of those juror-bashers on the Twitter or Websleuths.com lol – honestly, this is probably something they should have considered before they said that they would be capable of rendering a verdict of death. But, anyway….)

In the end, I know that this was not the outcome that the Alexander family was hoping for and that is what is most heart wrenching.  Listening to Steven Alexander speak of his accounts of TRUE PTSD, broke my heart. Out of all of the Alexanders, I probably worry about him the most. This murder has destroyed his life. Seeing the family react, the grief on their faces, the DISBELIEF and SHOCK, that is what was most difficult. How I feel about Arias and what she did, what I feel about the jury and their decisions, PALES in comparison to what this case means for Travis’s family.

Too many spectators have turned this into a personal vendetta. It is more about their own personal blood lust than any calls for true justice. They make ALL Trial Watchers come across as unhinged, bloodthirsty and irrational and it’s frustrating. I’m almost embarrassed to say that I follow the trial because I don’t want to be lumped in with them. There is a line that many are crossing and they are the people that make even ME think that it is probably best for trials not to be televised. I’m not saying keep the media out, but they definitely make it extremely difficult to make the case for cameras in the courtroom.

GET IT TOGETHER PEOPLE! You may THINK you are simply being strong advocates for the family, but you have completely lost perspective and your grasp on reality. It’s verging on unstable! Do you want to be the Jodi Arias in your loved ones’ lives? (OK, I hope that helped to snap you out of it. lmao)

Well, I guess that about covers it. I probably could write another 1600 words about this, but I will just leave it here. Word is that the family wants the penalty phase to be retried, and I guess for them they have already invested five years into this ordeal, another few months won’t break. They’ve been a strong and resilient clan and, no matter what the outcome, I wish for them to be able to get through this together. I want them to be able to have get togethers without feeling the hurt and the pain of Travis’s absence. I hope that they are able to put enough time and distance between the images that that monster left for them of Travis that they are able to begin to replace them with images of him in life. I am not a very religious person, but I am willing to say that I pray for this family to get through this and to one day be able to laugh and smile without guilt and learn to love life again. It is what Travis would want.

Related articles

• Jodi Arias Sentencing Phase: Mistrial With Hung Jury! (radaronline.com)
• Jodi Arias Jury Foreman Tells GMA How They Reached Verdict… And Then Didn’t (mediaite.com)
• Watch Jodi Arias trial video as verdict announced: Hung jury (videos) (examiner.com)
• New jury to decide Jodi Arias’ fate after penalty phase mistrial (cnn.com)
• Arias detractor on mistrial: ‘She got into jurors’ heads’ ()
• Jury foreman says Arias testimony didn’t help her (bostonherald.com)

Giving Jodi Arias the Benefit of the Doubt

All geeks know that there is one question that we should always have an answer to, no matter who is asking, when they’re asking, or how they choose to ask it. That question?

If you had ONE power, what would it be?

My answer is lame in that it is boring and somewhat predictable, but I give it every time – the Power of INVISIBILITY. Oh, the things I would do with that power! (My fantasy is to sneak into the members of congress abodes wearing a sheer white sheet, with holes cut into them for eyes, and playing Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future until I scare them into working together for once.) Sure, the ability to control the elements and rain down hellfire upon all who oppose me (or cut me off in traffic) would be WAY cool in theory… but, then, who is stuck with the cleaning bill? Now, if I could be invisible while raining downeth the helleth-fire, I would be unstoppable; and, I wouldn’t care so much about the cleaning bill.

The reason I bring this up is because, as usual these days, I have had the Jodi Arias trial on my mind. I appreciate the Devil’s Advocate every now and then and I just wanted to ponder what it would take for me to actually buy into The Jodi Arias Defense. What would it take for me to say, “I believe her,” I wondered. After thinking about the facts of the case, it dawned on me what power Jodi Arias would likely choose if the Fairy Goddess of All Magical Powers appeared to her one night in her cold, dank jail cell (I like to think of it as a dungeon, really) and asked her the one question that every geek (and millions of others) would just die to hear, “If I could grant you just one power, what would it be?”

Jodi’s Answer: Mind Control.

While Mind Control can be defined in different ways, depending on the creative mind that backs it, it is basically what the title suggests: the power to force another being to do something by thought or command involuntarily. THIS is the super power Jodi Arias needs in order to convince me (and many others) that the way that she claims the events of June 04, 2008 unfolded actually happened.

If you are new to the case, Jodi Arias killed her on again/off again boyfriend, Travis Alexander, and is now standing trial for his murder. Arias claims that she killed Alexander in self defense after months of physical and psychological abuse. She says she has Battered Women’s Syndrome and PTSD. The prosecution contends that she premeditated his murder and killed him in a jealous rage. Arias faces the death penalty.

To give Arias the benefit of the doubt is to engage in such a rigorous form of “suspension of disbelief” that you, yourself, may lose control of your own mind and end up in the loony bin, complete with drool on your chin and a lovely, starch-white straight jacket to aid in giving yourself long, warm hugs. (Cozy!)

Here is what we must believe in order to give Jodi Arias the benefit of the doubt in this case:

1. It really was just a coincidence that a gun of the same caliber, used in the murder, was “stolen” from her home mere days prior to killing Alexander. (Investigator says robbery looked staged.)
2. It really did take 5 hours to get her nails did. (And, she didn’t get her hair dyed from Blonde to Brunette on the way to Arizona)
3. That guy at the rent-a-car place is just colorblind and couldn’t tell the difference between blonde and brunette when he said that she was blonde when she picked up the car.
4. The real reason she didn’t want that red rent-a-car is because she didn’t want to get a ticket. You know, because somehow, a red car controls how fast you drive.
5. She simply forgot that the whole purpose of borrowing/buying gas cans was so she could get cheaper gas out of the state of California. That’s why she filled up the cans in California. Duh!
6. Although she bought a gas can from Wal-Mart and paid for it with her credit card, she actually took that gas can back and received a cash refund for it.
7. It’s just an oversight that Wal-Mart has no records of anyone returning a gas can that day.
8.  A roving band of license plate flippers, on skateboards, flipped her license plate.
9. Travis begged her to come see him after he called her an evil sociopath and told her that she was the worst thing that ever happened to him.
10. She lost her charger and her phone went dead just before she entered AZ.
11. Using her credit card everywhere else but AZ doesn’t look suspicious.
12. Travis cut rope in the bathroom instead of measuring it to fit the bed in the bedroom.
13. Travis’s bed was good for tying someone to it, even though it was a SLEIGH bed.
14. Although she had destroyed his BMW, and he suspected her of slashing his tires twice, dropping Travis’s camera pissed him off enough to want to kill her. (I mean, OBVIOUSLY the camera still worked – oops.)
15. She was so slick with her ninja-like moves that she ran into the closet, passed a bench, climbed flimsy shelves and grabbed a gun, in a MANIC dash to save her life, and not one thing was shoved, pulled, or kicked out of its place.
16. Doing number 15 was actually easier than running down the stairs and out of the house.
17. Doing number 15 made sense, even though she had no clue if the gun was loaded.
18. She took Travis on 1 vs. 1, with no element of surprise, and only walked away with small cuts on her fingers.
19. She shot Travis first, although the Medical Examiner said that he could not have been shot first due to the bullet in his brain being debilitating.
20. She doesn’t remember anything about the stabbing, even 5 years later.
21. It’s possible to remember how you “felt” during an act even if you have no clue what happened during the commission of said act.
22. She, coincidentally, “came to” right before hitting a known checkpoint and saw her hands covered in blood and she was barefoot.
23. She “must have” stopped in AZ to get gas and paid cash.
24. No one wondered why a women covered in blood was walking around barefoot when she paid for the gas.
25. It’s reasonable to “just know” you killed someone when the last thing you remember is that they were alive – but, still, you don’t remember killing them.
26. She magically found her phone charger under her car seat after leaving AZ.
27. All of those transactions in Utah that look like it was for gas, weren’t actually for gas.
28. She only lied about not being there because she was scared.
29. She only lied about the ninjas doing it because she was scared.
30. Although the ideas of being put to death and/or spending the rest of your life in prison are scary ones, she’s not lying anymore.
31. “Defending” herself from Travis gave her PTSD.
32. It is normal for someone with PTSD to willingly be around things that remind them of the trauma; and behave normally – Talking to mutual friends, going to the house the “trauma” took place, asking repeatedly to see the crime scene photos, etc.
33. Hiding behind and sleeping under your ex’s Christmas tree is normal.
34. Repeatedly showing up uninvited to your ex’s house is normal.
35. Peeping through your ex’s windows is normal.
36. Hiding in your ex’s closet is normal.
37. Climbing through your ex’s doggy door to gain access to their house is normal.
38. Sleeping on your ex’s couch when they don’t even know you are there, and didn’t invite you over, is normal.
39. 33-38 is just “normal stalking” and signs that someone is simply not ready for the relationship to end.
40.  It’s not really stalking unless someone files for a restraining order.
41. It’s normal, NOT jealousy, to drive hours to confront an ex-boyfriend’s new potential love interest.
42. Travis was stuck in a 1970’s time warp and had to get his child porn in print form.
43. Everything she said she didn’t like about sex with Travis is true.
44. Having low self-esteem means pre-signing a manifesto in case you are famous for committing murder one day and thinking you’re Einstein-genius and that your art is good enough to hang next to Picasso’s and Van Gogh’s.
45. A bunch of other stuff that I am surely forgetting.

UPDATED 04/24/2013

46. Your boyfriend wrapping his arms around you, holding you close in front of friends while he tells a story, is not a public display of affection.

47. That lady from Tesoro doesn’t know how to read  her own company’s gas receipts.

48. Deanna Reid really was “the crazy one.”

49. It’s possible to selectively delete incriminating photos (ONLY) in a trauma-induced fog.

50. Darryl Brewer was hallucinating and only thinks that Jodi told him she needed the gas cans because she was taking a trip to Arizona, TWO DAYS PRIOR to going to Mesa.

Yup. Jodi Arias had better hope that magic is real because that may be her only hope. But… of course, all the state would have to do is provide the jurors with mind control protection helmets and all of her granted powers would be for naught! (muwaha.)

The Jodi Arias trial is on hiatus until Tuesday April 23, 2013. The state will continue its rebuttal case at 9:30am MST.

Related articles

• Jodi Arias Now Claims Murder Was All an Illusion (wordrat.wordpress.com)
• Jodi Arias Trial: Expert Witnesses for the Defense (anotherpov.wordpress.com)

Exclusive Photo of Jodi Arias Hides Behind Xmas Tree!

Jodi Arias Lurks Behind Xmas Tree

This is immature, but I don’t care. hahahah

We Call This Normal Stalking

This is immature, but I don’t care. hahahah

Jodi Arias Trial: Battle of the Experts

Juan Martinez called Dr. Janeen DeMarte to the stand to rebut the testimony of both Dr. Richard Samuels and Alyce LaViolette. In a relatively quick direct examination, Juan Martinez went over Dr. DeMarte’s qualifications as a psychologist as well as herexperience with domestic violence. Dr. DeMarte studied at Michigan State University, where she graduated in 2009. She also fulfilled an APA approved doctoral residency at Arizona State Hospital and is a licensed clinical psychologist. She currently operates a private practice in Phoenix, AZ.

Dr. DeMarte testimony hit on several areas including why she does not believe that Arias suffers from PTSD, giving direct examples that flew in the face of a true diagnosis, such as Arias attending Alexander’s memorial service, hanging out with mutual friends, sending his grandmother irises, and other actions that would require Arias to think of Alexander and the “trauma” associated with the killing. She also spoke of Arias’s immaturity, referencing her mug shot where she “smiled as though it were a high school photo” versus a booking photo of someone being charged with murder. Calling this behavior strange, Dr. DeMarte stated that Arias’s parents described her as “happy as hell” after visiting her. This behavior made Dr. DeMarte wonder if there was an intellectual deficit present, leading to Arias’s IQ test. (Arias scored 119.) Ultimately, based upon test results and other behaviors present, Dr. DeMarte diagnosed Jodi Arias with Borderline Personality Disorder.

 Click here to continue reading.

Alyce in Juanderland

Click here to read complete article over at AllVoices.com

Excerpt:

LaViolette has struggled with answering the prosecutor’s questions since cross examination began last Thursday, not because the questions are particularly hard to answer, but because she has this unrelenting need to predict where Martinez is going with his line of questioning before she responds. Thus, their exchanges resemble the following:

Martinez: Is the sky blue?

LaViolette: ::leans forward and squints:: I am not sure what you mean by that.

Martinez: It’s a simple “yes” or “no” question.

LaViolette: ::furrows eyebrows:: I can’t answer that question “yes” or “no” Mr. Martinez.

Martinez: Well, when you look up at the sky, it appears as if it is blue, correct?

LaViolette: ::slow smile:: Well, I guess if you want me to say that the sky is blue, the sky is blue.

Martinez: I want to know what you think about the sky’s hue.

LaViolette: ::exasperated:: I don’t really know how you want me to answer this question, Mr. Martinez. I like to look at the big picture. Why is the sky blue? What causes it to appear blue to the naked eye? Is it really blue, because it looks almost black when the sun goes down, doesn’t it? Sometimes there are stars in the sky when it’s dark, but are they always there? What about on cloudy nights? Why can’t we see them when the sun is up? Then there is that whole thing about the reflection of light and the prism of colors and how the molecules break down and all of that hooha. I mean, I am not an expert on astronomy, Mr. Martinez, and there are many other factors that I would need to take into consideration before I can give you an answer.

Martinez: Are you done?

LaViolette: You need a timeout.

The above is only a slight exaggeration.

Click here to read complete article over at AllVoices.com

Related articles

• Alyce LaViolette – Quack – State vs Jodi Arias (bellalu0.wordpress.com)
• Alyce LaViolette-no respect for the court of law! (carlarenee45.wordpress.com)
• Jodi Arias Prosecutor Dubs Defense Expert Witness ‘A Human Lie Detector’ (radaronline.com)

Why Travis Alexander being a …. Doesn’t Matter

For a while now, I have been wanting to write about why the fact that Travis Alexander wasn’t the perfect gentleman doesn’t matter and this blog post inspired me to go ahead and do it.

Exerpt:

I suppose prosecuting attorney Juan Martinez is planning to use domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette’s remarks about “Snow White” and domestic violence as a way to call her a man-hating bitch in a desperate attempt to try and salvage his murder one case. It might also be he is going through the motions of a cross-examination knowing the murder one charge was lost a long time ago, with the introduction of the phone sex tape and text messages by the defense. What I cannot understand is why people can’t seem to believe that Jodi Arias was an abused woman. No, most abused women don’t kill their abusers, but one of the major reasons women are incarcerated for murder is because of domestic violence situations. ALL of the evidence in this trial points to domestic abuse. ALL of it. Does that mean Travis Alexander deserved to die in such a hideous manner? No, but his treatment of Jodi, confirmed through the documentary record, give us an understanding why she felt desperate enough to do what she did.

The thing that strikes me most about this post is just how much it reminds me of a time when a murdered or raped woman’s character was put on display in order to make the jury question the actions of the victim versus the actions of the culprit. What was she wearing? Was she sleeping around? Was she a bitch?  Maybe she deserved it. Remember the heat Bill O’Reilly took for suggesting that a young murder victim was partially to blame for being raped and murdered? (Interestingly enough, Alyce LaViolette spoke about this brand of victim-blame while on the stand. Perhaps victim-blaming/shaming is only wrong when it comes to women.)

There seems to be a mentality among a significant segment of the population that, if a victim isn’t all unicorns and sunshine or if they make wrong decisions (like jogging a wooded trail alone or leaving their bedroom window open), they deserved their fate. It doesn’t always manifest itself in the same way, however. For instance, people who feel that Travis Alexander had it coming may not be (and are probably not) the same people who agree that a young rape and murder victim played a part in her own demise; but, their mentality is very much the same in that they both hold the victims accountable in some way.

The individual who “penned” the blog post that sparked my own blog entry asked why people find it hard to believe that Arias was a survivor of abuse. I think the phrase she is looking for there is “no credibility.” Jodi Arias’s “credibility bank” is not only empty, but it’s overdrawn. This leaves us with examining independent evidence such as those emails and text messages. The problem with that is that people have different ways of reading things. When I read Alexander’s text messages, it comes across as someone who is reacting to another’s action. When he went off about her leaving an item behind, it comes across as a pattern that he is fed up with. He clearly finds her to be a manipulative individual. Also telling is that when LaViolette pointed to the way that Alexander spoke to other women, those interactions were mostly about his sexually flirtatious nature, which made the Mormon women he was talking to uncomfortable. None of it had to do with him calling them outside of their names or things like “sociopath.”

So the question is, would it have been best if Travis had just ignored Arias altogether? Yes, but just like LaViolette says that women stay involved in bad/abusive relationships for their own emotional reasons, the same thing can happen with men. Men DO stay in toxic relationships with abusive, obsessive, and jealous women all of the time. Men also do not tend to take women seriously when they are stalking them. In example, a recent episode of Dr. Phil featured a young woman who was seeking help due to her being obsessed with a guy she had broken up with. The guy in that case would also talk to and see her, even with knowing how obsessed she was. People don’t always make the best decisions.

While I feel like LaViolette’s testimony highlights gender inequalities that negatively impact men, that is not the primary reason I feel that Travis being a …. doesn’t matter. It’s because it doesn’t “undo” other facts in the case.

My original response to Susan’s blog entry:

Travis Alexander was not the perfect murder victim. He did have a load of problems – but so did Jodi Arias. This is evident from the fact that even her own parents weren’t shocked that she was being considered for the murder. Jodi was a strange person. Jodi had mental problems. Jodi flipped out on her mother. Jodi would hit her mother for no reason. Jodi treated her mother like crap. Jodi would be fine one minute and crying hysterically the next. Jodi was obsessed with Travis. Jodi climbed through Travis’s doggy door. Jodi was found hiding in Travis’s closet.

Jodi was 1000 miles away and did not have to go to AZ. She had full control over that action, but she went because she was obsessed with Travis and the only thing that would end that obsession was him no longer breathing. For all of this talk about Travis being afraid of losing Jodi, where was the evidence of him pursuing her? He was scheduled to visit her in CA, wasn’t he? Didn’t he cancel that? That isn’t the hallmark of a man who doesn’t want to let go. Talk to REAL female DV victims. The man always goes to the woman to get her back. Always. Nowhere in those texts does Travis ask Jodi back. To the contrary, he states that he’s glad to be moving on and had plans to go out of the country with another woman.

I also find it interesting that you say that “all of the evidence” points to domestic violence. Intriguing. What about a gun of the same caliber being “stolen” from Arias’s home days prior to Alexander being killed points to DV? What about not telling anyone she was heading to AZ sounds like DV? What about her making sure that there were no records of her in AZ sounds like DV? What about dying her hair on the trip down sounds like DV? What about borrowing and buying gas cans so that there are no records of her buying gas in AZ sounds like DV? What about anything she did to cover up the crime after the fact sounds like DV?

When her mother asked her if she was in AZ, Arias’s response was that she had gas receipts to prove that she wasn’t. How many people, who aren’t business owners or on business trips, care about saving gas receipts? Consider that she had a well traceable paper trail before and after her trip to AZ. She used credit cards everywhere else, and conveniently her phone is dead/off the entire time she is there. How does any of that EVIDENCE not sound like premeditation? If this were a man being accused of killing an ex-girlfriend, would you see this evidence as anything other than what it is?

Finally, her explanation of how the crime happened is entirely improbable. How she managed to take on a man 1 on 1 and only walk away with some small cuts (if you buy her story) and a bruised head that she has no evidence of, is remarkable when you consider the damage to Travis’s body. Not to mention that the ME’s findings state that Travis was shot last. She wants us to believe that she “came to” in the desert with her hands covered in blood and barefoot, when no blood was found on any doorknobs. She also wants us to believe that she had to stop for gas on the way out of the state, and since she didn’t use any credit cards, she had to pay cash. A barefoot woman covered in blood certainly would have stood out, don’t you think?

I have seen cases with far less evidence result in murder 1 convictions. If Arias gets anything less than that, it will be because she is a woman who killed a man, and not vice versa. Look at the Scott Peterson trial – case was entirely circumstantial, but it’s OK to use common sense when convicting men. With women, many people want a Point A to Point Z road map with every alphabet in between covered.

And that’s why Travis being a …. doesn’t matter.

Jodi Arias, Snow White, and Battered Women

The Jodi Arias Trial

This week, domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette was back on the stand for the defense testifying as to why she believes that Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander were engaged in a domestically abusive relationship. LaViolette painted a picture of an almost virginal and naïve Arias who wrote lovingly about Alexander in her journals only to be rewarded with abusive verbal tirades, insidious psychological cruelty, and brutal physical violence. She labeled Jodi Arias a battered woman.

Much of this week’s testimony verged on redundant; with Jennifer Wilmott questioning LaViolette on the nature of the abuse she believes took place between Arias and Alexander. LaViolette testified about the physical abuse Arias allegedly suffered at the hands of Alexander, including the occasions Arias says Alexander broke her finger and choked her. She also went over several text messages and emails, stating that the language Alexander used towards Arias amounted to character assassination. LaViolette spoke of other women Travis was involved with and pointed to signs of his manipulative ploys and desire to control women. She stated that one of the women Alexander corresponded with was vulnerable because she was married. (Continue Reading)

Related articles

• Jodi Arias Domestic Violence Expert Accused Of Cashing In On Murder By Abuse Victims (radaronline.com)
• Travis Alexander Asked Jodi Arias To ‘Rip Out The Page’ Of Her Journal Detailing Alleged Abuse, Claims Expert (radaronline.com)
• Alyce LaViolette – Quack – State vs Jodi Arias (bellalu0.wordpress.com)

The Psychology of Jodi: Madwoman or Abuse Survivor?

Jodi Arias smiles in her mugshot after being arrested for brutally murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.

With taking the stand, Jodi Arias gave the world a rare glimpse into the mind of a suspected sociopath. Spending 18 days on the stand, Arias walked the jury through the details of her life with Travis Alexander, the man she is accused of murdering in cold, premeditated, blood.

During her time on the stand, Arias explained to the jury how she and Alexander first met, how she broke up with her boyfriend of four years after knowing Alexander for only a week, and divulged more details about anal sex than many people care to hear about outside of (and in) their own bedrooms. Arias spent weeks weaving a tale of a rocky and contentious relationship fueled by allegations of abuse, jealousy, forbidden sex, and the spiritual contradictions it all caused within their Mormon faith. The height of Arias’s testimony centered on her version of the events that unfolded on June 4th, 2008. Details became murky when she hit a mental “fog” that rendered her incapable of recalling anything other than shooting Alexander in the face. According to her, she has no memory of stabbing him 29 times and slashing his throat.

When it comes to someone like Jodi Arias, it is easy to throw around the word “sociopath.” She has shown little remorse for ending Alexander’s life, her affect is often blank and empty, her eyes are dark and cold, she is inappropriately vain and she has told so many self-serving lies that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. But, is she a sociopath? Can an online checklist really give us a true and accurate depiction of the psychology of Jodi? (Click here to read entire article.)

Related articles

• Jodi Arias Trial: Expert Witnesses for the Defense (anotherpov.wordpress.com)
• Watch: New Interrogation Tapes Show Jodi Arias Detailing Breakup With Travis Alexander, Insisting She’s Innocent (mediaite.com)
• Jodi Arias tells jury if she’s convicted of murder, it’s due to ‘bad choices’ (examiner.com)
• Jodi Arias prosecutor’s conduct questioned (theseatonpost.com)

Jodi Arias Trial: Expert Witnesses for the Defense

Jodi Arias Trial: Expert Witnesses for the Defense

As we enter the fourth month of the Jodi Arias trial, the nation could not be more riveted. Arias is accused of killing Travis Alexander on June 4th, 2008. The prosecution has maintained that Arias is guilty of premeditated murder and is seeking the death penalty. Arias is claiming self defense and that she had no choice but to brutally murder Travis that day, inflicting 29 stab wounds, slashing his throat from ear to ear, and shooting him once in the face.

For months now, spectators have been drawn into the World of Jodi where sex, lies and audiotape has been on full display. Most recently, the defense has put forth experts to try to explain away Arias’s odd behavior after the crime and why she has no complete memories of what took place during and directly after the murder. (continue reading)

Related articles

• Jodi Arias Defense Costs Arizona Taxpayers $1.4 Million! (radaronline.com)
• Jodi Arias trial delayed over defense expert witness ()
• How much has the #JodiArias trial cost U.S taxpayers? [Astonishing] (uk.bazaardaily.com)