Jodi Arias Denied New Trial Despite Prosecuter's Outrageous Courtroom Behavior

Jodi Arias may be one of the most hated women in the world. She killed her on-and-off again boyfriend, Travis Alexander, during a fit of jealous rage. Travis tried to break thing off with her, but he enjoyed having sex with her, so he kept her around. He thought his new love interest was brushing him off, so he let Jodi spend one more night with him. Within 12 hours of allowing Jodi to stay over at his house, he was dead..

Arias asked Alexander to turn around and pose for her camera. She was an amateur photographer and loved taking pictures of him. Once he turned around and placed his hands on the walls of his shower, she took a knife out and stabbed him. She ended up stabbing him 27 times, slit his throat, and shot him in the face.

The jury did not question her guilt, but her sentencing hearing initially resulted in a mistrial. The jury couldn’t decide between death penalty and life in prison with no parole. In the end, she narrowly escaped the death penalty, and will spend the rest of her natural life in prison.

Arias’ Appeals Were All Denied

Jodi’s defense lawyers, L. Kirk Numi and Jennifer Willmott, argued their client had a justifiable reason to kill Travis. They claimed he attacked her, and she was in fear of her life. A court appointed psychiatrist examined Arias and found she did not have PTSD, anxiety, or any memory issues. She claimed throughout the trial to not remember brutally murdering her ex-lover.

The prosecution said Arias lied about so many things it was hard to take anything she said seriously. For example, she said she worked at a restaurant named Margaritaville, but there was no such dining establishment in the Yreka area. She did work at a restaurant, but not the one she said. That was only one of her small fibs the prosecutor used to paint her as a liar.

In 2013, Arias’ legal team filed a mistrial motion, in which said lead Mesa detective Esteban Flores committed perjury when he talked about Alexander’s cause of death.

In his testimony, he said Jodi shot Alexander first, then stabbed and slit his throat. That was not correct. The medical examiner testified she stabbed him, slit his throat, then likely shot him in the forehead after he died. Flores said he must have misunderstood the medical examiner’s report, as he wouldn’t intentionally mislead the jury.

In April 2013, the defense claimed the prosecution acted inappropriately, and it “resembled modern day Salem witch trials.” The defense accused the prosecution of creating “a circus-like atmosphere in the courtroom.” They said it resulted in Arias not getting a fair trial, and the only constitutional course was a mistrial.

A month later, the defense filed another motion stating their witness received death threats for being on the schedule to testify on Jodi’s behalf. The witness decided at the last minute; they pulled out, saying they couldn’t put their life in danger. The court denied all the above motions.

Retrial Denied, Jodi’s Options To Get Out Limited

In July 2018, Arias’ current lawyers, Margaret Green and Corey Engle, filed a 324 page appeal seeking her murder sentence to be overturned by the Court of Appeals. They claimed Prosecutor Martinez’s outrageous courtroom behavior created a media frenzy and directly affected the outcome of the trial and sentence.

The Court of Appeals decided Prosecutor Martinez’s courtroom behavior did not influence the outcome of the case. Arias guilty verdict resulted from “overwhelming evidence of her guilt,” which upheld the Jodi’s conviction, USA Today reported.

“Arias was convicted [sic] based upon the overwhelming evidence of her guilt, not as a result of prosecutorial misconduct,” Judge Jennifer Campbell wrote in the opinion.

Arizona Assistant Attorney General Terry Crist said Martinez may have “bended the rules at times,” but not enough to reverse the murder conviction. Overall, Crist said she is “pleased with the court’s decision to affirm the conviction of someone who committed a brutal murder.”

Jodi Arias will probably never get out of prison. At this point, she would need a governor issued reduction of sentence or a presidential pardon. It is unlikely she will get either, considering the brutality of Travis Alexander’s murder.

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