Day 4 - Sentencing "A Juror's Perspective" Written by: Paul A. Sanders, Jr. The 13th Juror MD @ The13thJurorMD (Twitter)

Jodi Arias Retrial - Day 4 - Sentencing "A Juror's Perspective"

I have to think that the Jury is on edge. Primarily, it seems like there has been a Juror concern each day. One must remember, they cannot talk about what happens in Court. The last two days featured a different Juror held back from the rest of the Jury. Today, it was juror #12, a mature gentleman that I would surmise to be in his late 50's or early 60's. He was held when the Court broke for lunch recess.

The first thing all of us did was to count seats when the Jury was reassembled for the resumption of testimony which was primarily from Detective Flores throughout the day. I mistakenly called Juror #12 as Juror #17 on my lunchtime Tweet. Simply enough, I have the jury counted beginning from the bottom row starting from the left to second row starting at Juror #10. My mistake. At least we know who Juror #12 is...

We spent the bulk of the day feeding and plowing through Jodi Arias lies that we are familiar with from the first trial. Much of this was done via interrogation tapes, tapes of phone calls and through the testimony of Detective Flores. There is a certain point where one no longer wants to listen to the defendant because nothing she says can be trusted.

I know the Jury feels the same thing. The Jury has seen the brutality of the death. They have seen the premeditation involved with the gas cans. They surely have become aware of her "Consciousness of Guilt" in her behavior after the murder by leaving messages on Travis Alexander's phone. They were surprised at her behavior when she called the police department feigning genuine concern. There were more than likely disgusted by hearing about the Iris' she gave Travis' grandmother for the funeral.

The similarities between this trial and that of Marissa DeVault, The Hammer Killer, never cease to amaze me. They both attacked completely innocent victims. They were prolific liars and their crime was almost beyond heinous. 

Our Jury tired of DeVault's lies quickly. We were subjected to a five hour interrogation tape with Detective Tomory and the interrogation was truly brilliant in its ease and allowed DeVault to hang herself with her own words. The lying does not convict one of murder. The lying only shows a consciousness of guilt that makes a Jury angry. The images of the victim seem to be clarified by each lie told. They see Travis Alexander and they remember over 150 pictures of him and his brutal murder from the second day.

These Juror's will see the interrogation tapes in the deliberation room. There may be a Juror or two who needs to be convinced that the prior Jury made the right decision in premeditation. They will watch the tapes minute by minute until they are convinced of her guilt. We spent three days dissecting the DeVault Interrogation tapes and by the end, we were at each other's throats. 

Travis Alexander will stand large in the deliberation room just as Dale Harrell stood tall in our deliberation room. Justice is slow and it is not easy on the Jury's minds.

Somebody said to me this morning that in regards to Jury issues, that Jurors are volunteers and they should know better than to approach the media. I beg to disagree that a Juror is a volunteer. The Jurors in this trial come from a pool of 400 citizens of Maricopa County. These folks did not volunteer. They were selected and each knows the responsibility of this trial. Fairness to the defendant balanced with justice for the defendant. 

Lady Justice is blind folded and holds the sword of justice in one hand. In the other, she carries a scale. It is this scale and the weight of each side that they must balance. It is a greater responsibility than one can imagine until one sits in the seat of a capital murder trial and must make judgment whether for the victim or the defendant. 

This stage of the trial is about aggravation and mitigation. Juan Martinez is doing an exemplary job of presenting the aggravating factors and I think the Jury sees it. A reasonable man or woman would see this. I trust our system enough to know that we have 17 reasonable people sitting in the Jury box.

Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Wilmont have a tough mountain to climb in contrasting Juan Martinez' powerful case. The mitigating factors are those factors that reduce the culpability of the defendant. They do not excuse the defendant and the Jury must decide if there is a preponderance of evidence that will reduce her culpability for this heinous crime. They must weigh this on the scale that :Lady Justice symbolizes.

I wonder when they will figure out that Jodi Arias has no mitigating factors...

Justice for Travis!

Justive for Dale!

Paul A. Sanders, Jr.
The 13th Juror MD @ The13thJurorMD (Twitter)