I'm Not Fond of Jodi Arias, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio Is Not Exactly Shining in the Spotlight, Either

                     Sheriff Joe: sheriff of, by, and for the people, or despot?

I have only one class tomorrow, so it's time for my semi-weekly half-bottle of Guinness. I'm going to need it to get through the next half hour of TV. I'm getting very tired of the Jodi Arias trial. If it weren't an extremely slow news month, would anyone even care?

I'm terribly sorry for poor Mr. Alexander, Mormon  or not, and I believe his character is being assassinated beyond belief.  Didn't some legislation or court ruling happen many years ago that prevented defense attorneys from putting rape victims on trial for their own sexuality? It seems as though this is basically what is happening, except that Travis Alexander isn't even around any longer to defend himself.

I understand that Ms. Arias is entitled to a competent defense, and that a battered woman defense is  viable defense. Still, some lines in terms of propriety seem to have been crossed.

Additionally, some of that of which  defense witness and counselor Alyce LaViolette is testifying seems very much to be hearsay: she's saying what another party said happened, which would seem the very definition of hearsay.  I'm not sure why it's admissible in court. Some of the finest legal minds in the nation are allowing it, so surely I must be incorrect.

A juror was dismissed, and the dismissal of this particular juror seemed to be to the benefit of the defense.

The host of Showbiz Tonight (I think his name is A.J. Hammer) is suggesting that the Jodi Arias trial is perhaps the most covered and the most famous trial in history. Perhaps I'm missing something, but what did Jodi Arias do besides kill someone, to which she admits? Only the circumstances under which it happened is a subject of debate. When a complete nobody kills another private citizen, how does the ensuing trial become the "trial of the century"?

It's a really slow news month or two or three, and we're all paying for it.  I acknowledge that no one is holding a gun to my head and telling me I must turn on my TV and watch, but TV is a major method of unwinding for me, and it seems that coverage of the trial is on every channel. I click and there she is, or at least there appears some talking head discussing the latest trial highlights. Jodi Arias and her trial are robbing me of my stress relief. Why can't she just go away?

And, penultimately, A. J. Hammer (?) just made the statement, "You can't make this stuff up," in reference to witnesses testifying in court. I could not disagree more strongly. Does he really believe what he said -- that witnesses on the stand -- defendants or otherwise -- are incapable of exaggerating, embellishing, conveniently omitting key details, or outrightly lying? If so, if I ever commit a serious crime and get caught, I want A. J. Hammer on my jury.

In conclusion, as much as I don't like Jodi Arias and feel that the evidence points to her guilt, I'm not fond of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I don't think jailbirds need cable television or Harris Ranch beef, but neither do I think those awaiting trial or in the process of trial need their calories to be restricted, nor do I think they need to be sleep-deprived. While I'm not concerned about the thread-count on Jodi Arias' bedsheets, she deserves as decent a night of sleep as her conscience will allow her to have. Furthermore, she's a thin woman. No one needs to be counting calories for her. She isn't necessarily entitled to cheesecake upon request or an array of Little Debbie's snacks (that would be cruel and unusual punishment), but she may need more than 2,600 calories allotted to her daily intake to maintain weight (even a registered dietician can only estimate as to any given person's caloric needs) and perhaps her headaches really are caused by insufficient nutrition and lack of sleep. While I'm confident that Jodi Arias will be found guilty, and even if she isn't, meaning  that she was not found guilty (either outrightly given a "not guilty" verdict or the jury hung concerning her guilt or lack thereof), a system is in place to deal with her guilt or lack of guilt once a verdict has been reached. Sheriff Joe Arpaio should not feel entitled to extract his own form of justice upon defendants before a verdict has been rendered. I write this believing that Ms. Arias probably is guilty of the crimes with which she has been charged, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a mere mortal and needs to stop acting as though he is God, much less a judge and jury.