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

[Sydni]

Being DP qualified does not mean they will vote for DP in any and all cases.

If a jury cannot vote for death in a case such as this one, what is the sense of even having the DP. If any case deserved a DP verdict, it's this one. JMO

I am not trashing the jury, by the way. They did a stellar job in my opinion. We got the Murder1 premeditated/felony verdict and the especially cruel verdict.

I do, however feel so devastated for the Alexander family. But the good news is that all of the malignant narcissist's words (interviews) will end up being "the most bitter words she'll ever eat" .... :rockon:. I'm sure they will be played at her next penalty trial. :floorlaugh:

 

[DebinGA]

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

IMO, jury forepersons are pivotal to the outcome. This foreman strikes me as inflexible and strong-willed. I bet he wrote and sent in the early "we're deadlocked" question because he knew he wasn't changing his mind, and he refused to sit around and listen to the majority hector him about it. I bet we'll hear a lot about him from other jurors soon.

 

[Chester_from_THM]

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.

Don't watch the news today, rose.

 

[JSR]

I'm not that worried. I've gotten the impression that the judge thinks she is guilty and would have no problem imposing LWOP for Jodi.

I don't know that I have that impression from Judge Stephens. I would hope she would give her natural life but I'm not 100% sure she would. And these days if I'm not 100% sure it's not good enough.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

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 ~

I have to wonder if all the nude shots of her also did not play into the minds of the male Jurors. I am not saying consciously but it had to impact them somehow. She had a beautiful body. I don't know. We are all second guessing with the hopes that we can figure it out, But we will never really know what people are thinking.. Only what they tell us they are thinking.

 

[kscornfed]

In the new minitrial will they be able to talk about JA's allegations of abuse?

AZ lawyer in the legal thread said she could testify about her 'abuse' in this next go-round.

the thing is, we WILL find out in the coming days why this jury hung, and why 4 of them couldn't vote for the DP. that will tell both sides a lot about what they need to do better next time.

it's almost like this was a mock jury! 'here's our case. what did you think?'

i'm pretty stunned that the foreman says he believes TA was 'abusive.' i'd like to know what he means by that. because i find that very disturbing. there was NO evidence whatsoever of physical abuse, and only ONE angry text exchange. so where's this abuse???

 

[Gin]

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.

Yep. Anything you say or do could be termed "abuse". You may want to get out of a relationship, get on with your life, but as an "alleged abuser" you may not have that right.
And there will be experts who will be happy to step up and verify your "abuser" status.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

I'm not that worried. I've gotten the impression that the judge thinks she is guilty and would have no problem imposing LWOP for Jodi.

The judge does not think... Per se.

She sentences convicted killers based on facts. She would sentence her based on the facts of the case, The guilty verdict and then the aggravator. I think she would give her LWOP.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

Bringing over from the last thread...it's important:

Originally Posted by MsFacetious
Thank you jury for convicting this killer.

Thank you for finding it especially cruel.

Thank you for putting your lives on hold for MONTHS to try and get justice.

Thank you for not "settling" for Life in Prison.

Thank you.

I will NEVER serve on a jury.

Ms. Facetious .

I have not read all the posts after the the jury could not reach agreement.....but I would say You have stated my feelings pretty closely.
I hope once the shock is over we will all be able to see it this way.

Thanks, In the Dark ,for bringing this over. Apparently You are Not in the dark.

One thing to remember the DT knew exactly what they were doing drawing out this trial--that made the decision for death much more personal by allowing JA to become someone at least one of the jurors they felt they Knew--who knew they would actually Feel for her.

If you listen to the polling of each juror on their decision, it sounded to me their was more than one who did not agree with death--maybe 4 at least. We will see---God I hope they all were not WUSSY women--UGH! Just sayin! MOO!

 

[rose222]

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

And, the fact that they were divided when they just got started was not an indicator that it would be a hung jury. How many jurors begin their sentencing deliberations where all jurors agree right from the start that death is the way to go? It's usually split halfway or even less. In the Andriano case they had a long weekend off to think things through. The foreman gave a speech outlining his reasons for the death penalty. In this case, I don't know whether the foreman was just not that effective or whether there were a few jurors who were stubborn from the start.

If there were jurors who were unwilling to consider death in this case then that certainly means that they lean more towards life in general.

 

[luvlife]

Is there any interviews with court peeps, jurors on any morning shows today? I am on the west coast so I read GMA has foreman on but is there any others?

TIA

 

[InALandFarFarAway]

Travis said some not very polite things to Jodi in some of his emails and text messages. I'll go beyond that and call them rude.

Ergo, Jodi is somewhat of a victim.

Ergo, regardless of what she did to Travis, Jodi deserves some consideration in the sentencing phase.

That is my take on what the jury foreman said. It is not an opinion I share.

I so wish there existed more evidence of what Jodi did to deserve Travis's angry words. I think she lucked out in that the secret behind the text/emails died with Travis.

I guess the message truly is, for DV victims (like Travis) document, document, document. Jodi got that advice right in one of her many interviews. If Travis had confided in even one person what all Jodi had pulled on him, and how she scammed him, JM would have been able to establish the reason for TA's reaction. Without context, the words seem angry for no reason, and ALV got a foothold and traction off that.

JMO

Everything you have written.

I believe TA had something tangible on his person, meaning in his house, that would have done her in. She absolutely had to go there to get it away from him and to silence him. Her manipulations just makes it look as though she were just a jealous shrew.

Like you, I really wish he had alerted others to what he had discovered, created a trail that she couldn't have stopped. Damn.

 

[ontariolynn]

BBM: Sheriff Joe has said Jodi will be in a cell by herself for 23 hours a day and there will be NO MORE INTERVIEWS. I guess if there was any GOOD NEWS today, that was it. :seeya:

I think he probably thought he was going to get rid of her that day whether it was LWOP or DP because he said on TV the night she gave her interviews, that she would immediately be brought to the Prison by his men, and then he was finished with her, I am also sure that he saw her interviews on TV, and he appears to be a man that does not take any nonsense, and runs a tight ship, as long as she was in the news with her trial, he had to be careful, but now I guess she can be in lock down which will drive her crazy, if from now till she is sent to her new home, is not allowed to be in the general population, as she thrives on attention, whether it be male or female, I wonder if he is able to take away her T.V. and anything else that she has in her cell for her enjoyment, does that mean also her food will be given to her on trays in her cell and she has to eat by herself, things will really be different for her now, as she is so very arrogant, and uncaring about everyone and everything.

 

[popsicle]

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?

I know you aren't asking me however, what that juror stated...in my opinion, is not proper mitigation to allow her to live. Many people are verbally and emotionally abused and do not kill, especially in such a horrific and cruel way.

 

[LLC]

After hearing the foreman's interview, I am just sick. Professional jurors are starting to sound like a plan.

So thrilling to know you can kill your child and go free or kill a BF (date) that pizzes you off & actually have even a chance of life on the outside.

 

[oaktree]

It might have only been the foreman that thought TA abused JA "mentally and emotionally" and the other 3 had other reasons for voting no dp. He made it clear that the discussion was rancorous in the jury room at the last. I think the foreman went on tv asap because he anticipates other jurors will be saying some unflattering things about him soon, and he wanted to speak first.

I think you're right that the foreman wants to speak first before others contradict what he is saying. His message does not fit with the tone of the many questions the jurors submitted. I think he was the lone dissenter, but was able to influence others on the jury because of his position as foreman.

 

[iSleuth]

Does the law in Az ask too much of the jury( to decide the penalty?) unfortunately- i truly believe they were the ones who were best poised to make a determination- and in my heart of hearts I believe they could and should have. I hope that they are not too burned out to see the interviews.

I hope this is the message that gets through to JA - this is what I think that jury was saying, and in no way shape or form means that she "won"

This jury found her Guilty of premeditated and felony murder 1 with cruelty- 8 of them wanted her to die for it and the other 4 ( probably) never wanted her to see the light of day- ever. The idea that she could ever get out was the clincher ( IMO)

This phase was very difficult for me to reconcile in my own mind. I fight with my self over the controversies of the DP-endless years of appeals, sandbagging ( forcing delays, firing lawyers and extensions)these very hard for victim's family- as would be parole decisions. Knowing that so many states and all of Europe have banned the DP- haunts me.

:-(
I liked the idea- proposed by VP on HLN- Life Row. feels like death row but it's for life. Forever.

 

[cityslick]

AZ lawyer in the legal thread said she could testify about her 'abuse' in this next go-round.

the thing is, we WILL find out in the coming days why this jury hung, and why 4 of them couldn't vote for the DP. that will tell both sides a lot about what they need to do better next time.

it's almost like this was a mock jury! 'here's our case. what did you think?'

i'm pretty stunned that the foreman says he believes TA was 'abusive.' i'd like to know what he means by that. because i find that very disturbing. there was NO evidence whatsoever of physical abuse, and only ONE angry text exchange. so where's this abuse???

I hate to say, but I think it has everything to do with the victim. Because TA wasn't a child or some small indefensible person, it allowed some of the juror's minds to go there on the 'abuse'. I'm not saying I agree with that mentality, but I think it's something to consider.

 

[sacrablue]

Yep. Anything you say or do could be termed "abuse". You may want to get out of a relationship, get on with your life, but as an "alleged abuser" you may not have that right.
And there will be experts who will be happy to step up and verify your "abuser" status.

Right, relationships have gotten very complicated compared to the old days. So many factors involved so it would pay to do a little research and background check before you hand over your keys to a potential partner.

 

[Southern_Meadow]

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.

Thanks was not enough! Bravo! :clap:

Personally, I don't think the judge being emotional had anything to do with how she feels one way or another as far as JA goes. I think maybe she saw how Travis' family and friends were reacting and the whole emotional roller coaster of the trial hit her all at once. There's no way she could have sat on the bench for over 5 months and heard all the evidence and not been emotionally involved. I know she isn't supposed to, but she's only human.