Originally Posted by
under-the-spell
Travis messed with Jodi's head big time, and payed a very steep price. After all of the traveling and special times that they shared, Travis ultimately came to view Jodi as nothing more than a sexual object. On a subconscious level, a rage started developing with Jodi as she realized how unimportant she was to him and that her only avenue to getting his attention was sexuality. Jodi, on the inside, is a very sweet girl with a vibrant creativity and love of life; however, she was not self-aware enough to see the warning signs of the rage being suppressed - and certainly lacked the foresight as to it's ultimate consequence. Travis was a smooth-talking salesman and speaker, likeable, and an aspiring "playa" with the ladies. He viewed Jodi as a conquest even after he knew that she was in love with him, and was willing to throw in her face the fact that he was enjoying pursuing and dating other girls (myspace comments, cancun, etc..).
Ok - blah, blah, blah - has the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that she planned to murder him? I think not. Yes there is considerable circumstantial evidence of premeditation, enough to give a juror the idea that there is maybe a 75-80% chance that she planned it, but without showing that she stole the gun and brought it with her - or without some other expression of intent by Jodi prior to June 4, I just don't see convicting her on Murder-1. I think that the prosecution should have taken the deal for Murder-2 and called it a day. I'm sure that the State spent many research hours sifting through texts, emails, phone calls, etc - to find evidence of Jodi having planned the crime - and all they can come up with is a circumstantial argument. Little shaky.
As for my personal bias (if not already clear from the first paragraph), I am - as my name suggests - under her spell. I could see myself falling in love with a girl like Jodi...and in fact she does remind me of my ex girlfriend/fiance. She seemed to make very poor choices with men, and I think she could have done much better than Travis - not to stomp on the man's grave. He certainly did not in any sense deserve what he go, and I don't think that she should walk free. But reading Travis's philosophizing and Jodi's, it is clear to me that Jodi was more intelligent and eloquent. I do not see her in any way as an "empty soul," as described somewhere in this thread - and I don't think that she was below Travis in any sense, except for financially. I think that inside, Jodi does feel deep remorse and sadness - and it is very unfortunate that she is not expressing this more on the witness stand. The final follow-up from her Nurmi was to re-ask her "why should we believe you now," which was a perfect opportunity for Jodi to break down and show some more humanity - but she didn't. I don't believe that Jodi is enjoying this experience or having fun (as some body language expert concluded); I think that she hates what she did, but understands that she can't take it back.
On June 4, 2008 she brutally murdered him, and I'm not really buying self-defense, but I also don't think it was premeditated. I think that Travis's ignorance and arrogance continued to push Jodi's subconscious "buttons" until she snapped. I think it's entirely possible that she did black out during some of her rage, and I wonder why we aren't hearing testimony from memory experts on this topic. For me, I remember certain details that seem irrelevant but sometimes can't remember very basic things - it is strange how the mind works, and not well understood by most of us. I think that her decision to cover-up the crime and lie as much as possible was made when she realized how brutally she had carried out the murder. She probably looked hard for that camera and can't believe that she forgot to check the washing machine with the sheets. Her actions were not ones of a methodical diabolical killer - she was consumed with panic. She was shocked at what she had just done, and understandably felt that she couldn't own up to it. This makes all the difference between Guilty and Not Guilty of Murder-1. She was too smart to execute it so poorly had it been planned as the Prosecution claims.
The whole thing is really sad for me, because I see Jodi as a beautiful spirit on the inside, for which things just went horribly wrong. It is disturbing to watch her on the stand, and realize that her life is also wasted. Some interesting commentary in this thread about how killing him may have tied her to Travis forever in her mind, and that is a fascinating possible angle. Personally, I would love to see Jodi serve a long prison sentence but have the opportunity for parole with good behavior. If she served 25-30 years in prison, showed real remorse, and was generally a positive contributor during her prison time - I am ok with her seeing the light of day in the twilight of her life. This is not meant in anyway as disrespect to Travis's friends and family, and admittedly I cannot imagine what they are going through.
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