In Jodi Arias' 16th day on the stand, she faced more than 100 questions from the group of people holding the key to her fate. The questions the 12 jurors and six alternates submitted to the judge provide a window into exactly what they think of Arias and her claims that Travis Alexander was an abusive pedophile who threatened her life: they think it's b.s.
It was clear from many questions that jurors are frustrated with Arias' two biggest excuses: that she blacked out after shooting Alexander and has no memory of stabbing him, slicing his throat or covering up the scene and that she never mentioned his abuse or pedophilia to others before or after his death because of the law of attraction -- claiming if she focused on negative thoughts, it would bring about negative results.
Some of the questions seemed to serve no other purpose but to mock Arias and illustrate the jurors' annoyance with her claims. "Why were the laws of attraction so important to follow but the law of chastity was not?" asked one juror who noted the fact that Arias ignored the Book of Mormon's call not to have sex before marriage but claims she followed the law of attraction so closely as to make no mention of Alexander's abuse in her diary or to friends. "How do you remember so many sexual encounters but don't remember stabbing Travis and dragging his body?" asked one juror clearly frustrated with Arias' lack of memory on June 4, 2008. Similarly, another question asked "did you ever see a doctor for your memory issues?" Yet another tackled Arias' constant lies regarding what happened the day of the death, first claiming she wasn't there, then claiming two intruders killed him before settling on her self-defense claim. The question read, "How do you determine when you will tell the truth and when you will not tell the truth?"
Other questions seemed to follow the lead of prosecutor Juan Martinez and his line of questioning during cross-examination. Martinez first brought up the idea that if Arias truly grabbed the gun from Alexander's closet by stepping on a shelf, then how did she not disrupt anything else in the closet. There were a few jury questions asking about that same issue and about how Arias was able to grab for the gun if Alexander was so closely behind her.
Another big point Martinez tried to establish during cross was that Arias tried to erase any sign that she had driven to Mesa for the purpose of killing Alexander. Jurors asked several follow-up questions about her road trip, including why she filled up gas in Pasadena, if she claims she brought gas cans with her to fill up out of California, where gas was cheaper. Jurors also asked why she didn't call Ryan Burns, the man she claims she was driving to see on her road trip, to let him know she was stopping in Mesa and why did her back license plate end up upside down? Martinez tried his best to plant the seeds of premeditation in the minds of jurors and the questions they submitted show they are highly considering it.
A third line of questioning underscores jurors' doubts about Arias' claims that Alexander was abusive and a pedophile. Many questions asked why she never called 911 on Alexander, especially given the fact that she once called 911 on an old boyfriend who violently shook her. Other questions tackled the lack of proof of abuse, including why others didn't ask Arias about her bruises, why there was no splint for her bent finger and why there are no photos of her with bruises.
Arias' answers to the jurors' questions did little to clear up her story. Rather, the questions asked hold much more significance than the responses she gave because they show how much weight jurors are giving to the idea that Arias planned to kill Travis Alexander on June 4th 2008 and how little weight they are giving to her claim of self-defense.