Our expert delves into the mind of this now convicted murderer.
By Hillary Goldsher — Written on May 15, 2013
The verdict is in and we can all take a collective breath. The jury did the right thing and Jodi Arias is now convicted of murder—the premeditated slaughter of Travis Alexander. He was a young man in the prime of his life with everything ahead of him and he was brutally killed in a methodical and horrific plan executed by this woman. It is a devastating and mind-blowing reality for his family.
Of course, in true Jodi Arias fashion, we are not able to focus on Travis Alexander (even in the days after he finally received justice). Shortly after the verdict was read in open court, Jodi arranged an exclusive interview to provide her feelings about the day's events. In a self-indulgent, appalling interview, Jodi covered topics ranging from the morality of the prosecutor, Juan Martinez, to her sadness that the family would not accept a plea deal in this case so the "hypocrisy" about Travis' lifestyle would not have had to be exposed. These musings reveal her pathological narcissism and sociopathy at work. Even after being found guilty, she is looking for a way to blame others.
Notably, she showed no emotion about her own fate that is still to be determined by the jury in the penalty phase. Today, the jury will begin to make their decision if she should be sentenced to life in jail or to death. Jodi indicated that she would prefer to die, stating that "death is the ultimate freedom" and that she would prefer her freedom sooner rather than later. She reported her disdain at the thought of staying in one place for so long and underscored her hope that the jury would allow her to die.
At first glance, this may seem plausible. She doesn't want to endure the confinement and monotony of jail. She may not want to live with the reality of what has happened to her or what she did to Travis Alexander and would find relief in leaving this earth. But we don't need look further than Jodi's psychology to debunk this theory.
At every point in the aftermath of Travis' brutal murder, Jodi has lied and manipulated to promote her own cause. She lied to friends, family, police and the press — repeatedly and brazenly. Each lie was told with the sole mission of saving herself. Her supposed desire to receive the death penalty is no different.
She lives for and thrives in the limelight. She has taken every opportunity possible to publicize herself via interviews and social media — even from her jail cell. Jodi Arias does not want to die. She wants as much attention, money and notoriety from this spectacle as possible. It is enlivening, exciting and ego-feeding for her.
She is doing what she has always done: manipulating the media and the jury in the hopes of getting what she wants. This is a classic attempt at reverse psychology. She knows the jury has disdain for her and how they want her to suffer for her crimes. If she tells them she "prefers" death, they may want to avoid catering to her preference and, instead, sentence her to life in prison. They would believe that they are assigning the more loathsome option to her ... but the reality is that she wants to live so she can continue to pursue infamy, in whatever way she is able.
Jodi Arias doesn't want to die and the jury should be very clear on this as they debate her fate.
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