DR JRAND - re Arias trial
I thought it was a good day yesterday. I thought Juan had just the right tone all day, especially as she started breaking down. He wasn't attacking but he wasn't backing off either. It was appropriate, tough and effective. He simply confronted her with what she did over and over and over. I liked when she wouldn't look at the photo and he said "Ma'am, you agree that you did this, right" Jodi "yes" Juan "Then look at the photo and tell me where you were"
I don't pay much attention to what the people say on TV, but I do listen to it. Most of them don't have a clue how a jury trial really works.
First of all, you won't be on this jury unless you are death qualified, which means you are willing to impose the death penatly if the evidence warrants it. That's a big part of jury selection in a death case and many people are disqualified for that reason. Secondly, life behind bars is still a win for Juan. It's also a win for the defense, but really not a win for Jodi. I heard her "friend" who visits her all the time say Jodi thinks there will be a mistrial because the jurors won't agree and then she'll get manslaughter in the next trial and get 5 years time served and go home. That's insane but it sounds like Jodi.
If it was premeditated before she went to Arizona, she still had to wait until the roommates were gone (she knew they were home when she arrived), and she had to wait until he was in a position that he couldn't defend himself very well - naked in the shower with the wet tile floor under him. She loved sex with Travis, so it isn't a surprise she'd do that too. Maybe she was giving him one last chance to decide he never wanted anyone but her, but he didn't say that so she killed him. They only need one minute of premeditation (well any small amount of time) for it to be premeditated. She could have gone there without the plan to kill him and decided right before she did it and it's still premeditated murder. The jury will be instructed on all of that.
In my experience, jurors take their duty very seriously. They are deciding the fate of another human being. While they are instructed to simply apply the facts to the law, there is a lot more that goes into it. In this case they have graphic evidence of what Jodi admittedly did to Travis and his family has been sitting in the front row every single day. The have photos of the 29 stab wounds, slit throat and shot to the head. That's not self defense. That's making sure he's dead. Overkill can also be someone who suddenly snaps and goes nuts, but that's not her defense, she's claiming self defense. There are specific critera that must be met to establish you are justified in defending yourself. The jury will also get instructions on that.
I believe this is too gruesome not to get a murder conviction because she admits doing it (which distinguishes her from OJ and Casey Anthony) AND she admits she did everything she could to cover her tracks after the murder with the express intention of getting away with it. You don't need to do that if you were defending yourself. I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. I'm curious to see what the defense expert says and how Juan crosses her
