I'm not expressly trying to solicit discussion, but you're certainly welcome to add your own comments so long as they are on topic, thoughtful and not unduly disrespectful. You need not agree with me and you may post anonymously if you prefer. That said, I reserve the right to yank nonsense and spam.

** Update 8 June 2013 **
While I continue to monitor this blog, please note I have changed to a different hosting service and therefore a new blog. If you'd like to stay current, please visit me at My Sens-iety.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Arias: Sentencing Verdict Postscript

From what we've learned listening to the jurors who've come forward to give interviews, the four holdouts voting for a life sentence for Jodi Arias all found one single mitigating circumstance:

Travis verbally and emotionally abused Jodi.

WTF?????

That's not a mitigating circumstance, that's blaming the victim for his own death... just what the Defense wanted the jury to do in the Guilt Phase.  Now they fall for it?  Cripes!  At best, it's a clear misunderstanding of the jury instructions.  At worst, it's a mitigating excuse invented by jurors who seemingly didn't have the stomach to impose the death penalty Arias deserves.  How could anyone not recognize that the only verbal and emotional abuse Travis directed at Jodi was in direct response to all the evil shit she first inflicted on him?

I think it's worth noting here that Arias has never accepted responsibility for the murder, never shown any remorse (except for getting caught), never even begged for the mercy of the court.  Not even Arias, in her list of eight mitigating circumstances, specifically listed verbal and emotional abuse because it's utter nonsense no juror would have been expected to fall for.

Frankly, I don't have a beef with people who don't believe in the death penalty.  It's a deeply personal opinion and I can respect that.  I do, however, have a beef with anyone who agrees to sit in judgment on a death penalty case while knowing they could never impose a death sentence, no matter what the circumstances.  If they were foolishly betting this case would never come to that, they lost the farm.  But I suppose all that matters to them is that they will be able to sleep well with their verdict.

Speaking of questionable verdicts...  I'll always wonder if those same four were among the five jurors who couldn't "figure out" that felony murder also applied in this case.  The Defense fought hard to have felony murder removed from the charges because it was believed to be a slam-dunk conviction.  Even Jodi Arias herself expressed surprise she wasn't convicted on felony murder.  Oops.

RAGE ALERT:  By dehumanizing Travis Alexander (a man she never met), it appears Alyce LaViolette is solely responsible for saving the life of Jodi Arias... for now.  That, more than anything else about this hung jury phase, pisses the hell out of me.  And I'll stay pissed for a very long time unless and until the second jury reaches the proper verdict.

No comments:

Post a Comment