Justice

 "No jury will convict me, and you can mark my words on that."

~ Jodi Arias, "Inside Edition" interview

I'd be remiss (after posting more than once on the subject) if I didn't address my final thoughts regarding yesterday's long-awaited (for me, at least) verdict in the Jodi Arias murder trial. Guilty of first-degree murder (yay!) was a no-brainer verdict for most of us who followed this seemingly never-ending chaotic courtroom extravaganza since January, but not one that I took for granted after witnessing shocking televised not-guilty verdicts in similar high-profile circus-like murder trials for O.J. Simpson in 1995 and Casey Anthony in 2011 (both of which displayed the power a slick defense team can wield over a jury). 

I felt more emotional than I expected upon hearing the verdict (and, indeed, held my breath until it was read) and seeing the accompanying cheers (from the huge group of onlookers gathered outside the courthouse) and tears (from Travis Alexander's family), all dutifully televised by HLN (which has followed the countless twists and turns of this case as faithfully as an old dog follows its owner). Justice is capable of provoking that kind of emotion, even from random looky-loos, like me, with no personal stake in the trial or its outcome.

Jodi Arias reacts to her guilty verdict (ABC News)

The jurors got it right. They stayed focused in the midst of what became an outrageous X-rated four-month freak show. They weren't distracted or deterred from rendering a fair verdict by the defendant's pathological lies (delivered directly to them from the stand for approximately two weeks). They didn't buy into the defense's unjustified claims of self-defensive murder, domestic violence, PTSD, dissociative amnesia, and pedophilia. They didn't accept the decidedly inexpert testimony of domestic-violence expert Alyce LaViolette and Jodi's not-so-secret admirer, psychologist Richard Samuels (apparently swayed by the pretty sociopath's manipulation). They saw the truth, buried,  though it was, beneath a trash heap of lies, personal agendas, psychological mumbo-jumbo, and shameless assassination of Travis Alexander's character.

Despite the verdict, the trial isn't over yet. It's moving into the sentencing phase, starting today, which will determine whether Jodi Arias is granted the death penalty that she reportedly wants. Whatever the result, my wish is that Travis Alexander's family will find healing and peace, if they haven't already. I hope that somewhere someone has learned enough from this tragedy to avoid or end a toxic relationship before it results in bloodshed. And I hope our collective belief in justice, though tarnished by previous American courtroom injustices, is bolstered by this just ruling. I know mine is.