Jodi Arias is innocent *Fall Tier Tournament- round 2*

In any trial, the prosecution must prove the defendant meets three criteria: means, motive, and opportunity. Given that my opponent has conceded Arias both had means and opportunity to murder Travis Alexander, I will primarily focus on the motive. However, I will briefly go over both means and opportunity first to present some secondary evidence.Means and opportunityJodi Arias undoubtedly had the means to commit the crime. Travis Alexander had been stabbed over 25 times, and also had was shot in the head by a .25-caliber gun.[1] Arias has admitted to both stabbing and shooting him, so she clearly had the means and opportunity in both cases.[2] MotiveThis is by far the most difficult aspect of this trail to confirm. However, it is still rather easy to do so. Arias and Alexander met in September 2006, and began dating two months later. They broke up in summer 2007, and Alexander moved on to date other women. Even still, they kept in contact (with Arias reportedly stalking Alexander), before she moved to Northern California. Fast forward to June 2008, when Alexander was found brutally murdered in his home. He was stabbed 27 times and shot in the head - his throat was slit as well.[3] Although my opponent may argue this was a spontaneous assault, it seems clear upon looking at the evidence that she in fact premeditated the murder. Just a few days prior to the killing, a .25-caliber gun was stolen from the Arias family house.[4] This is the same caliber that was used in the killing and, under oath, Arias admitted she has "never owned a gun". The question then arises, where did she get the gun? The only logical answer is that she stole it from her parents, and even if she stole or borrowed one from someone else, it shows clear premeditation to murder.[4] Further, evidence recovered at the crime scene definitively shows that the murder was premeditated. A camera was recovered at the crime scene, with deleted images taken before and after Alexander was murdered having been recovered by the police. These images include numerous pictures of Alexander posing in the shower (presumably taken just moments prior to the murder). These pictures (images 7-16) were not selfies - they were taken, presumably by Arias. However, the pictures don't stop there - two pictures were taken either during or after the murder. The first of these pictures (image 114 in the gallery) points at the ceiling. This could indicate a picture was taken during the incident, by accident. The second of these pictures (image 115) is of Alexander's bloody and presumably lifeless body.[5] The most interesting image taken, however, is the last one taken before the murder (image 17) - take a look at Alexander's face.[5] Does that look more like someone who is angry and ready to attack, as my opponent suggests, or someone who is being forced to pose at gunpoint? Beyond that, we have even more examples of motive - Arias had messaged one of her former partners that she had found text messages on Alexander's phone that were from other women. On the 911 call taken from the friends who found Alexander's mutilated body in the shower, they noted he was having problems with an "ex-girlfriend who had stalked him and slashed his tires".[6] Of course, one could also wonder why a "self-defense" killing would require you to shoot someone and then stab them dozens of times times or vice versa? The gunshot wound was to the head - by all accounts, that is enough to incapacitate someone at worst, or kill them instantly at best.[7] Once again, this is another sign of premeditation - essentially, if you have a gun, there is not really a need to carry around a knife as well. Moreover, if you have a gun in the first place in a situation like this, it is highly doubtful it is for good intentions. Regardless of reason, however, the prosecution contends Arias started to stab Alexander, who was briefly incapacitated. In a realistic defense situation, the stab wounds would not be targeted and precise, like in the killing, but imprecise, in random body spots, and from wild swings to ward back the attacker, but the stabs were in fact very precise and targeted in specific locations.[7]Arias's defenseAll of this seems incredibly inconsistent with Arias's account, which is that she was the one abused. However, Arias's account itself wasn't consistent. At first, she denied being involved or present in the killing - she denied even being in the state. This is because after she killed Travis, she left and went to meet her new boyfriend for a sexual encounter. When presented with the camera evidence, she at first denied she was there, then changed the story to be that she was there, but that a couple came in and killed Alexander. Finally, she admitted she killed him, but said it was in self-defense.[8] This, frankly, is an absurd claim on the face of it. As I've explained above, the evidence simply doesn't line up with that. Arias's own boyfriend recounts that she had no injuries or anything abnormal, except for two bandages on her fingers.[9] In other words, the Arias defense is complete and utter rubbish.Wylted's defenseMy opponent's defense of Arias is similar to the Arias defense, but not identical. His mainly focuses on hypothetical, unfalsifiable, or incomplete situations. For example:*My opponent asserts that Arias was assaulted by Alexander, causing her to drop the camera and it accidentally take a picture. However, this only accounts for one of the during-attack pictures (the one facing the ceiling), and not the one that features Alexander's bloodied body.*My opponent asserts that Arias grabbed the gun while retreating from Alexander, but how is that possible? There is no record of Travis Alexander having owned a gun, and even if he did how would she know where it is or how to get to it? *My opponent asserts the gunshot wound occurred first, and was to the sinus, and that Travis Alexander would have been in good enough condition to examine the wound in a mirror. However, the gunshot wound was not to the sinus[10] - rather, it entered through the right forehead, passed through his skill (including the right frontal lobe of the brain)[11] and ended in his cheek.[10] That is not a light injury - Dr. Kevin Horn, who performed the autopsy, notes that the injury would have resulted in immediate unconsciousness.[11] *My opponent argues many of the stab wounds to his knees and shins actually from "things". What exactly these things are is beyond me, as he doesn't explain them. Also, he didn't actually have any stab wounds on his knees or thighs.[10] So in this case, both the things and the wounds are nonexistent.*My opponent claims the stab wounds to the hands were from Alexander attacking. However, the wounds were defensive - not offensive.[7]In essence, my opponent's ideas on how the crime ran out falls apart at the seems. More interesting are his psychological arguments. He asserts that Arias had PTSD. However, this is from a defense experts - prosecution experts saw no sign of PTSD or amnesia, but instead borderline personality disorder (BPD).[12] Janeen DeMarte notes that BPD sufferers have "have a terrified feeling of being abandoned by others".[12] My opponent also argues Alexander was abusive, but there isn't any evidence for this. More importantly, we can see much of this as being part of their sex lives - the two were sado-masochistic, and had an up and down relationship.[13] Considering that Arias likely has BPD, this isn't surprising. My opponent also makes a claim that Travis broke Jodi's finger, but he provides no evidence for this.In conclusion, the evidence is clear - Jodi Arias was responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Travis Alexander. I have given a comprehensive overview of the facts and they align with that explanation - not the Arias camp's or my opponent's. This is clear even without looking at the personal life of either party.References1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk...2. http://radaronline.com...3. http://www.cnn.com...4. http://www.hlntv.com...5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com...6. http://www.foxnews.com...7. http://www.hlntv.com...8. http://www.cbsnews.com...9. http://www.cbsnews.com...10. http://murderpedia.org...11. http://radaronline.com...12. http://www.theguardian.com...13. http://newsfeed.time.com...