Summary: Jodi Arias has been sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder.
After nearly seven years of the salacious story of Jodi Arias, in court for killing her ex-boyfriend, we’ve finally come to a conclusion, and can slip Arias into our folder of repressed memories.
The key moment in Arias’ testimony, after the tedious business of establishing that slain ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander had a porn addiction, and may even have been a pedophile – (the defense attorney Jennifer Wilmott said “We never called Mr. Alexander a pedophile” but told stories that suggest otherwise), was her description of when she killed the man:
“I do remember the moment the knife went in his throat and he was conscious,” said Arias before the judge and Alexander’s family. She gave a long significant pause before adding, “He was still attacking me.”
Well that last bit of self-justification was added just after she was able to make one more stab at the Alexander family.
“I’m truly disgusted and I’m repulsed with myself,” Arias did say regarding the throat stabbing.
The counter-narrative was that Arias killed Alexander in retaliation for him ending their affair. Her supposed “self defense” involved shooting her ex-boyfriend and stabbing him almost 30 times. Her defense claimed the relationship had been abusive, leading to a soap-opera narrative the media readily ran with.
Though convicted of first-degree murder last year, the jury could not decide on a punishment. Then for a second trial, eleven jurors voted for the death penalty while one wished life in prison. Ultimately, she was sentenced to life in a maximum-security prison. There will be no chance for release.
“She feels good [about this],” said defense attorney Jennifer Wilmott in regard to the sentence. “She’s ready for the next part of her life.”
News Source: Yahoo News
For a more in-depth look at the Arias trial, here is another article from Amanda Griffin, with her take on the trial:
Jodi Arias Sentenced by Judge to Life Without Parole
Summary: The Jodi Arias trial has finally come to an end after seven years. Jodi Arias was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Judge Sherry Stephens gave out the sentence after hearing from family members on both sides and a final plea from Arias. The death penalty was taken off the table after two juries were unable to come to a unanimous decision.
The Jodi Arias trial started nearly seven years ago when she was indicted on July 9, 2008 by the grand jury for the first-degree murder of Travis Alexander. The entire trial process has resulted in several mistrials along the way. The final decision came down to Judge Sherry Stephens since two previous juries were unable to come to a unanimous decision on the death penalty. With the juries unable to make a decision, the death penalty was taken off the table and the decision was given to Judge Stephens. Arias was either going to serve life in prison with the chance of parole after 25 years or live the remainder of her natural life behind bars.
Judge Stephens listened to statements from Alexander’s sisters, Arias’ mother, and a final plea from Arias herself. Alexander’s sisters pleaded for the harshest punishment possible. They were hoping for the sentence of life in prison without parole because the murder of Travis was so gruesome and cruel. All but one person in the previous jury had wanted to give Arias the death penalty because of the violence of the murder.
Arias’ mother asked for leniency with Arias pleading for a chance of parole. In her statement to the judge, she maintained that the murder was in self-defense and that she had to fight for her life like she did on June 4, 2008. She did accept responsibility for creating a mess that she did not know she was capable of committing and wished she could take back.
The defense has had an uphill climb for most of the trial with very few believing in her innocence. She sat in the witness stand for 18 days in the first stage of the trial and it ultimately hurt her.
The Alexander family has been taunted by Arias’ fans with graphic photos of the deceased through Facebook and email. As a sign of solidarity, the Alexander family and supporters wore blue to the sentencing.