Verdict is in! GUILTY of MURDER ONE - Hung Jury On Penalty Phase

[geevee]

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jodi-ari...-gma-how-they-reached-verdict-and-then-didnt/

GMA interview with jury foreman. I'm shocked at what I heard. They actually bought into her claims??? ALV must have been better than we all thought.

These are the kinds of things that will play into the decision of whether or not to retry the penalty phase. My hope is for it to be over next month with a deal to drop all appeals and she be sentenced to life without parole. I think it would be the best conclusion for all concerned.

 

[popsicle]

One thing I am convinced of of now though, ckja will get the DP in this next trial. I feel and believe that.

 

[camcneishg]

BBM

Can I ask why? Is it simply because their opinion on the mitigating factors does not agree with yours? Is it because their scale of who deserves death vs. life is not the same as many others?

because this was a DP case. And the fact that they were dead locked before they even started deliberating tells me that they would not budge. IMO....this is not DP qualified

 

[Gin]

Being able to decide on a sentence is one thing but believing that Travis abused JA is just....heartbreaking for me. Travis has only his reputation left....
:tears::tears:

Yes, indeed. And, gosh, can systematically murdering someone over time (while shooting glamor shots of the death) be considered abuse? Or is hearing "words" considered more hurtful/abusive than being murdered?
I mean, if they think TA abused ckja, then...what exactly do they think ckja did to TA?

 

[nomoresorrow]

I just listened to the jury foreman's interview on GMA and the two things that stood out to me were his difficulty in relating the brutality of the crime to JA herself AND his own certainty ("very sure...") that JA was mentally and verbally abused by Travis. Seems that being an attractive young female helps to avert the DP...

JMO ~

 

[cityslick]

Not just that but he had a hard time reconciling that the small, vile thing could kill anyone. Not his exact words.

If he really said that then how did he agree to M1 then? Or did he just go along with the crowd on that one?

 

[kpm]

We don't know how the foreman voted, we can only speculate, but judging from his answers he believed she was emotionally and verbally abused and he considered that in deliberations.
I have a problem in cases when the foreperson has strong convictions that seem to go against the moral majority.
Could this be the reason they did not try harder?
One or two bad emails/texts does not make someone and abuser, it's sad that all the evidence could not be presented, it was not fair to smear Travis and not use all the BS on the killer.

 

[InALandFarFarAway]

This judge was not the appropriate judge for this case, MOO. The crying at the end confirmed it.:twocents:

She sounded choked up to me, too. I would even go so far as to concede fighting back tears. Would be perfectly acceptable if she had been oh say a spectator. But if she couldn't hold back her emotions, a few terse words until she could compose herself would have been more appropriate.

She was emotionally exhausted as well but we count on the judge to be no nonsense, impartial and composed. Again, JMO.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

I understand, I guess I just don't understand the middle part of the equation, determining the cruelty. Most states have in their statute that if convicted of M1, the prosecutor has the option of going for DP or LWOP.

For example, in NC, Shanyia's killer was convicted yesterday of M1. Since it's a DP case, the jury goes straight to deliberations of penalty. There is no determination of cruelty. IMO, if you are convicted of pre-med murder, that's cruelty worthy of DP consideration.

I am not sure how many have the process for the death penalty but as much as we may not like it I do think that it does ensure that the DP is used for the worst of the worst.

How often do we hear that people want the person who killed their loved one dead. If it was just up to the families there would be a lot of dead murderers. But we save that ultimate punishment for the worst of the worst. What Jodi did was heinous.. IS she the worst of the worst?? I don't know.

 

[rose222]

I don't care that JA's parents weren't there yesterday. She is a monster. Asking even a mother to support a daughter who is a savage murderer from he$$ is too much. Whether their absence was an intentional move or not I don't know but I don't care. She is 32 years old. It is silly to talk about family abandonment (which consisted of a few hours' absence) when talking about a 32 year old woman. I'm glad if everyone abandons her and neglects. That is the least of what she deserves.

If this jury says anything more than 'I think Travis was mean to her' I think I'll just never get over it....

I want whatever Travis' family wants at this point.

 

[21merc7]

I don't know if all of them really could give DP or not, so I'll leave DP qualified out of the equation for now.

They did have 5 long months to think about all of it. Longer than most DP trials, so if they had already decided before then it should not be a surprise. That is a long time to weigh the facts, and a long time to get to "know" the accused in an observational manner. They did not have access to all that we did, they didn't see those interrogation tapes or the t.v. interviews.

 

[EquallyDivided]

As bad as I wanted to see a DP verdict, I prefer this outcome as opposed to a consensus of life. I want to thank the jurors who stood firm on the DP verdict instead of capitulating in order to have closure. I'm looking to the bright side.

Additionally, it's clear to me through interviews of Arias that she went into this trial believing that she was going to walk out of the jail. There is no other reason the feel 'betrayed' in the first interview.

So in my way of thinking, a single jury was able to accomplish 2 out of 3 appropriate verdicts, leaving all of us with one more to go. If the jury had NOT convicted her of Murder 1, and not ruled that it was Especially Cruel - then we wouldn't be in this position at all. Hope is alive, and its still chugging along.

Imagine how exhausted you would be, at this point. Asking the Jury to take so much time and so many steps becomes tedious. A fresh jury, who hasn't been desensitized to the gruesome aspects and shocking conduct of JA is what is needed.

After you see an autopsy photo so many times, hear the crazy involved (during all phases of trial and three different closing argument phases) I could imagine that the shock and disgust could wear off after a time. A new jury will come in with virgin eyes and ears, and hearts. I am confident.

Also, JM knows the defense ream closing argument for the penalty stage. Don't think he won't be prepared.

 

[sacrablue]

The moral to this story, you better take the time to know someone, I mean know them from background to parents checks before you get involved with code yellow, level III relationships. It might seem great at first but you might pay the piper if you are not careful. There are more people out there just like JA, ticking mental time bombs.

 

[cityslick]

because this was a DP case. And the fact that they were dead locked before they even started deliberating tells me that they would not budge. IMO....this is not DP qualified

Didn't they deliberate for a few hours before the note on Wed? Wouldn't they have taken an initial vote at the time, just to see where everyone was. At that point, that's where the question came from and saw they had work to do.

We don't know a whole lot of what happened in that room. Who's to say the initial vote wasn't different (6-6 or something else). Who's to say there were more for life than DP and over the course of deliberations it slowly started leaning DP. We just don't know.

 

[Chester_from_THM]

I just listened to the jury foreman's interview on GMA and the two things that stood out to me were his difficulty in relating the brutality of the crime to JA herself AND his own certainty ("very sure...") that JA was mentally and verbally abused by Travis. Seems that being an attractive young female helps to avert the DP...

JMO ~

My gosh, nomore, I just saw that myself and I am stunned!

I really did not think the jury bought any of the 'abuse' nonsense.

I am really even more disheartened in a way. I am thankful they found her guilty of pre-medicated. . . I mean meditated . . . murder. But it is just so appalling to me that someone actually believed her bull*****.

I am even more heartbroken for Travis' family, and hope to G-d they are not watching these interviews.

 

[kpm]

Oh, I missed that one. Was that a tweet?

No it was in her interview with Ryan Owens, she said if she got out she would be very very responsible, unless someone tried to abuse, attack or threaten her, no one would have to worry....paraphrased

 

[rose222]

Yes, indeed. And, gosh, can systematically murdering someone over time (while shooting glamor shots of the death) be considered abuse? Or is hearing "words" considered more hurtful/abusive than being murdered?
I mean, if they think TA abused ckja, then...what exactly do they think ckja did to TA?

Also, what do they think about JA harassing Travis? Possibly slashing tires? (they heard the 911 call), stalking him? Lying to him? Snooping through his phone etc. That's not abuse??

 

[AZWatcher]

One thing I am convinced of of now though, ckja will get the DP in this next trial. I feel and believe that.

It sounds to me like the 4 who would not go with Death believed TA was emotionally/verbally abusive. Abuse is a mitigating factor. Those tapes and texts are not going away. I think if they were framed in such a way that there was an understanding of what she did to make him so angry it might help to diffuse them.

 

[MidwestMama]

Agreeing with the cruelty aspect only means it warrants entertaining the possibility of death. It doesn't mean she should get death automatically because of the cruelty. If that's the case why even have a third deliberation?

Perhaps that's what's wrong with process to begin with, that there was a seperate decision to determine cruelty. I thought I read somewhere that AZ is unique in how they do that with the DP, most other states with the DP go straight to the sentencing after the M1 conviction.

BBM

YES! THIS bolded part ^

Being DP qualified only means that you realize the DP MAY be involved in this case and you are open to considering that as a sentence. It is in NO WAY a "promise" that if a guilty verdict is reached you will vote for DP!

They found her guilty of M1, guilty of cruelty. When they reached this stage they considered death and obviously, couldn't all agree that was appropriate. We cannot fault them for voting as they believed! That is what they are charged to do - not say "ok death" just to end a deadlock and reach a verdict. That was very clear in the juror instructions.

The truth is, no matter what the sentence verdict is - the jurors have to live with it the rest of their lives. We don't. Whether dp, life OR hung jury, they have to live with it. I can only imagine that they feel horrible as this feels like a lot of work for them to have gone through and not be able to reach a conclusion that gives the family (or them) any sort of resolution.

It is going to be a rough day with many picking apart the jury and every word they reportedly say. I will not be drawn into it. They did a job that I am rather grateful I did not have to do. Would I have done it? Yes, if called. Do I think it would have been emotionally brutal to have to hear/see some of the evidence presented. Yes, and I have no doubt it would have surely brought back some PTSD that I put behind me a long time ago.

Justice HAS been done, but still has a bit more to go. She is found guilty of being the brutal murderer that we know she is. THAT was the verdict that REALLY decided that she would likely never be free again. Her sentence will come - as my avatar says Justice delayed is not justice denied.

Blessings and love to the family and friends as they regroup and prepare for whatever the future steps toward justice entail.

 

[rose222]

My gosh, nomore, I just saw that myself and I am stunned!

I really did not think the jury bought any of the 'abuse' nonsense.

I am really even more disheartened in a way. I am thankful they found her guilty of pre-medicated. . . I mean meditated . . . murder. But it is just so appalling to me that someone actually believed her bull*****.

I am even more heartbroken for Travis' family, and hope to G-d they are not watching these interviews.

Honestly I thought if abuse was even mentioned by these jurors they'd talk about how JA stalked and snooped and basically terrorized Travis. His only weakness was his sexual desire for a woman like that.