~Justice ‘hanging’ in the balance~

A premeditated heinous murder is justification for a sentence of death but is it? Personally, if I had to spend the rest of my life in isolation in a prison, the lethal injection would be my preference. When we want to see a person put to death, are we seeking revenge or justice?

There were no winners in the decision that was handed down yesterday. Jodi is not going anywhere except to prison at a later date. She is presently in isolation in a jail cell for 23 hours each day. Her diet is consisting of peanut butter for 5 out of seven days each week. Her television interviews have been banned and she will not be the center of attention.

We cannot let our hate for Jodi fester inside of us. If we permit that to happen, we will become bitter and, in that event, Jodi will have won.

One third of the jurors did not want Jodi put to death and we cannot fault them. We must go forward and accept their decision along with the 2/3rds of the jurors who wanted Jodi put to death. It was a disappointment that the verdict was not unanimous so everyone could finally accept it and have closure.

It was evident that Judge Stephen was distraught over the verdict. She has worked tirelessly in her efforts to be fair to both sides. We were privy to her hours spent in the courtroom but not for all the time she had to be mediator in chambers with the burden of making difficult decisions. My heart went out to her yesterday!

I had a chance to listen to a short clip of the jury foreman. He felt , along with other jurors, that Jodi was mentally and verbally abused. I think they were justified in deliberating about that. One thing that has always nagged at me….WHY WHY WHY did Travis continue to use Jodi’s body for his own sexual gratification??

Travis broke off his relationship with Jodi and began to date other Mormon women. Jodi slashed his tires, broke into his facebook and mail accounts and was stalking him so WHY did he still have sex (including phone sex) with her?? Could he not see that Jodi was obsessed with him and she was evil. I came to one conclusion that Jodi may have been blackmailing Travis. She had the evidence in photographs and could expose Travis to the Mormon community. After all the names Travis called Jodi, he still had sex with Jodi on June 4th. I can fully understand why the jurors were so confused.

The judge scheduled a retrial for July 18. A new panel likely will be seated to try again to reach a decision on a sentence – unless the prosecutor takes death off the table agrees to a life sentence.

Under Arizona law, a hung jury in the death penalty phase of a trial requires a new jury to be seated to decide the punishment. If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge would then sentence Arias to spend her entire life in prison or be eligible for release after 25 years. The judge cannot sentence Arias to death.

Disclaimer: Under no circumstances am I saying that Travis’ murder was justified!!

I would like to know your thoughts.

REMEMBER MY ADMONITION~MSF