I know people are not gonna like this, but IMO, Travis came off as really unlikeable based on what was heard in trial alone. I think that helped members of the jury who thought there may have been emotional abuse believe this. It also probably played into them not being able to agree with the DP for her. I am not saying Travis was unlikeable....just saying if all you heard was what was said in the trial, he came off that way...
- His own awful words to Jodi (remember the jury did not hear why he said those things; they didn't hear that she stalked him, slashed his tires, etc).
Taken by themselves they're pretty awful and certainly seem to be emotionally abusive. This made him seem unlikeable.
- He worked for (and was successful) at Prepaid Legal. Many people view PPL as a pyramid scheme that preys on the unsuspecting who are desperate to make money and are taken advantage of. (Just Google Prepaid Legal and Pyramid Scheme- this isn't exactly a secret). This made him seem unlikeable.
- He purported to be an upstanding member of LDS. He was a returned missionary, a member approved to enter temple (in good standing and not fornicating), and a priesthood holder. All Christian religions are pretty much against pre-maritals sex, but IMO, the Mormons are some of the strongest in their stance against it and enforcing it. I have been to a few Catholic weddings & several other Christian weddings where the bride and groom's child was their flower girl or ring bearer and the couple had lived together for a while. That isn't really gonna happen in Mormonism. I have several good friends who are Mormon, and my impression is that chastity is a way bigger deal in Mormonism than other Christian groups purport it to be in their religions (meaning Mormons walk the walk on this issue). BYU threw a star player off of their basketball team a few years ago when he admitted to having sex with his girlfriend. I doubt we'd ever see Georgetown or any other Catholic university do that (there is a morals clause prohibiting sex for unmarried students at BYU that I've never heard of there being at a Catholic university or college). When discussing this with a good friend who is Mormon, he told me that one of the LDS presidents once said something to the effect of "we would rather come to this station and take your body off the train in a casket than to have you come home unclean, having lost your virtue. (found it here-
http://www.gospeldoctrine.com/content/1-corinthians-3). Obviously, plenty of LDS just like plenty of people of every religion are fornicating, I'm just saying it's taken VERY seriously and some who are Mormon or know a lot of Mormons (and there are many in the Phoenix area) would be hip to the fact that Travis was living a lie and his image/income was tied in with that lie. (Look, I personally don't care if any adult is having sex with any other consenting adult and I don't care that Jodi & Travis were having sex. I'm just saying it didn't make him look particularly good that his status and image were so wrapped up with being a good Mormon yet here he was having sex with Jodi after baptizing her). This made him seem unlikeable.
- The sex. I'm gonna say this - many men (and women) would not want to invision someone tying their daughter to tree in a sexual fantasy or have anal sex with her even if she was a willing participant or even if she initiated it. They'd hope a man would treat a lady better than that (yeah, I know we know Jodi's no "lady," but just go with me for a minute...). I think some people think if you really love and respect someone, you aren't having "that" type of sex with them. That if he loved and respected Jodi, he'd never try to have anything besides vaginal sex in a bed with her. I know that's an antiquated view and of course, the majority of loving couples are having and have had sex that deviates from the missionary position in bed. And Jodi was certainly a willing participant and initatior. I just think it still made Travis unlikeable. I have had several girlfriends who complain about doing some sexual things with their significant others that they don't really like but "will do for the guy" or will do because they're afraid the guy won't like them if they don't, will look for another girl, or will leave them. Sometimes I wondered, since Travis said Jodi wasn't emotional during sex via his statement she saw him as a dildo with a heartbeat, that she wasn't realy into the sex but doing these things because she thought it would keep him around & keep him liking her (which would make sense with a BPD's fear of abandonment as well). I think some women could relate to this. And some older men (and women) on the jury may have thought that the ways Travis wanted and did have sex with Jodi were disrespectful to her, even if she engaged in this activity willingly or even initated it. Some people just expect a man to treat a woman better, let alone a woman you've just baptized. (Not saying I agree with this- just saying some may have seen it this way.) The anal sex, etc. made him seem unlikeable.
- Travis also came off as a cheater and someone who strung girls along (Deanna). That made him unlikeable.
- Travis came off as a liar just like Jodi- the lies about being a virgin, the separate hotel rooms, etc. He was 30. If you wanna have sex, have sex. If it's not part of your religion but you're gonna do it anyway, step away from one or the other. This made him unlikeable.
- At 30, Travis was still hiding that he was having sex like a teenager & claiming to be a virgin. This made him come off to some people I've talked to as immature and ridiculous for a man of his age to do. This made him unlikeable.
Look, I am 100% not saying these are reasons that Travis wasn't likeable, we know from all the friends he had (versus Jodi's one friend) that he was likeable. But that's not what the jury heard during the trial. He was human. He made mistakes. His mistakes were small and common (sex out of marriage, for example). He did not deserve to die. He did not murder anyone. When I see pictures of him with his little dog, my heart breaks. I wish the jury could have seen that picture over and over again. That made him more of a person and more likeable to me than the slit throat pictures. I have a theory that no man who truly loves a little dog can be anything but good.
Jodi Arias is a murderer. But I think it Jodi helped that Travis didn't come off as likeable as he should have. And that's a shame.
