Breaking News: Jodi Arias found GUILTY of 1st degree murder

 

Jodi Arias has just been found guilty of 1st degree murder after two days of deliberation.  The jury was given their instructions Friday evening after closing arguments, and were off over the weekend, but on Wednesday finally reached a verdict.

The verdict was anticipated and expected, but with the shockers in our legal system such as O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony, everyone was on the edge of their seats in the courtroom as the Judge read out the verdict.

On Jane Velez-Mitchell:

• Jane Velez-Mitchell says the ‘horrific nature of the murder’ is why the jury convicted Jodi Arias of first-degree murder
• She adds that it won’t make Alexander’s family whole, but maybe the verdict could provide a ‘small piece of solace‘

Alexander’s sisters cried and consoled each other after the verdict was read in the packed courtroom.

Crowds outside the courthouse erupted in cheers as news of the jury’s decision spread.

Several of Alexander’s friends told HLN they were relieved.

Dave Hall choked back tears.

“It just feel so good … to finally have the truth and be vindicated,” he said.

 

Another friend, Clancy Talbot, said she was grateful for the verdict.

“Looking at Jodi’s face, I think this is probably the first time in her life she has ever been held responsible for what she’s done, ever, and I think she’s in shock,” she said. “We have waited five years through the circus that Jodi has created.”

But the trial isn’t over yet, and Arias could speak to jurors again in the penalty phase of the case.

In the next step of the case, known as the aggravation phase, prosecutors will have a chance to present additional evidence and jurors will decide whether Alexander’s death was caused in a cruel manner.

 

From Nancy Grace today:

From there, the case will move to the penalty phase, where jurors would decide whether Arias should receive a death sentence.

If the jury decides on a death sentence, the judge is bound by that decision. But if the jury decides against the death penalty, the judge would have two options: sentencing Arias to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or sentencing her to life in prison with the possibility of parole after at least 25 years.

There are currently 127 people on death row in Arizona. If Arias is given a sentence of death, she would be the fourth woman on death row in the state.

As jurors prepare for the sentencing phase of the criminal trial, family members of Alexander are preparing to file a civil wrongful death lawsuit, attorney Jay Beckstead told reporters outside the courthouse. Alexander’s siblings won’t speak publicly about the case until Arias is sentenced, Beckstead said, adding that the family is grateful to prosecutors and detectives for their work.

Since Friday, jurors have been deliberating evidence surrounding a key question: Did Arias kill ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in self-defense? Or did she commit murder?

Alexander was stabbed repeatedly, shot and nearly decapitated five years ago. Arias says she killed him in self-defense after he attacked her, but the grisly slaying caused even some anti-domestic violence advocates to doubt her case.

Twists and turns of the trial

The jury, which has been in court since January 2, heard closing arguments on Friday. Jurors deliberated for 15 hours and five minutes.

As they took a lunch break after revealing they had reached a verdict Wednesday, some jurors were seen smiling and breathing sighs of relief. One juror returning from lunch wiped her eyes.

A massive crowd swarmed around the Maricopa County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon. Some onlookers said they had been following the trial for months.

The case has drawn worldwide attention and followers lined up daily for courtroom seats.

“We are here every day to support Travis’ family 100%,” said Kathy Brown, who got a cane she uses autographed by prosecutor Juan Martinez and cried outside the courthouse after the verdict was announced Wednesday.

“I am so thankful,” she said. “I knew the Lord would do the right thing.”

In the trial, both sides dramatically presented their arguments with details about Arias’ love affair with Alexander.

But defense attorney Jennifer Willmott countered: “Jodi Arias killed Travis Alexander. There is no question about it. The million-dollar question is what would have forced her to do it?”

Willmott said Arias was the victim of a controlling, psychologically abusive relationship, and Alexander considered Arias “his dirty little secret.”

Martinez accused Arias of playing the victim. He alleged she staged the crime scene to make it look like self-defense.

He also accused her of actively seeking to profit from her media attention.

That’s something Alexander’s family hopes to stop with its civil lawsuit, Beckstead said Wednesday.

After hearing Jodi Arias allegedly said she’s praying for the jurors after they found her guilty of first-degree murder, Nancy Grace says Arias should start “praying for forgiveness, and Travis Alexander.”

 

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Breaking News: Jodi Arias found GUILTY of 1st degree murder was first posted on May 8, 2013 at 1:26 am.
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