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Jodi Arias Answers Juror Questions; Man Awarded $15.5 Million; Sharks Put Spring Breakers on Edge

Aired March 07, 2013 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This is the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux.

It's been a riveting trial taking place and unfolding in Phoenix, Arizona. Jodi Arias there on stand for -- and on questioning right now. Entertaining questions coming from the jurors directly. Only three states have this kind of method. Arizona being one of them. The judge then posing the juror's questions and she's answering them. Let's listen in as she answers questions about the murder of her boyfriend.

(BEGIN LIVE VEED)

JODI ARIAS, DEFENDANT: It was maybe (ph) late October, early November and said that's not in line with the secret. The secret being the law of attraction. And made me tear it out. So, at that point, I was into the law of attraction. I agreed with him. I figured, he's right. And, honestly, I felt really bad, because that's the first time he'd ever heard me say something right, something negative about him. I had never said negative things toward him or about him. I always had a (INAUDIBLE) positive leap (ph) behind his back. And he -- I felt like -- kind of like I had been caught saying something very bad about him, so I didn't do that anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If that is the case, why were you OK with leaving an entry in your journal that talked about how Travis would get angry if he knew you had gone to Rachel's house?

ARIAS: That would have been in late August or early September that I wrote that and this argument that occurred would be late October and the subsequent lecturing of writing negative things occurred after that maybe later in October -- late, late or early November.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why was it OK to write about how Travis made you both sick and happy or sad and miserable or that something wasn't right about him?

ARIAS: That was a very mild way of how I sometimes felt about that darker side of him as far as (INAUDIBLE) miserable, as far as just the emotional turmoil and pedophilia. And so, that is also a side of him that, again, he was trying to overcome and eradicate. So, at the same time, he had beautiful sides to him. So, what I was doing in that is I was listing the contrasts of the range of emotions that I felt when I was with him. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After you snatched the gun off the shelf, did you do anything to a gun such as cock it, slip off the safety, manipulate a slide or anything prior to it going off?

ARIAS: I don't think I would know how to do that, so the answer is I don't know. Probably not. I just grabbed it and pointed it is what I remember.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had you ever had any firearms training or fire a 25 caliber pistol prior to this event?

ARIAS: Never fired a gun, but I was relatively familiar with them. Not formally trained. But relatively familiar. Just -- I don't know. Not formally trained.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How far away from you was Travis when the gun went off? Not when he lunged, but when the gun went off.

ARIAS: The lunging and the gun going off was sort of contemporaneous. I don't remember how close they were or if they happened at exactly the same moment or one right after the other. It all happened very fast and it all seemed to happen all at once. And I would say, as far as distance, maybe as far as (INAUDIBLE), but I couldn't say for sure. That's with certain -- certainty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You stated that you remember throwing the gun into the desert, but do you remember what happened to the box it was in?

ARIAS: No, I do not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about the holster you mentioned?

ARIAS: I only say the holster before I moved. I didn't see it again after that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he keep extra ammunition with the gun?

ARIAS: I never saw ammunition next to the gun, and I never found any in the house when I was cleaning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If Travis lunged at you, why didn't you just move to the side out of his way?

ARIAS: Well, it happened very fast. I didn't have time to think. Everything just happened it seemed in a split second. So, I really don't -- I just didn't have time to think, move this way or that way or back up or do this or do that. It just happened the way it happened without really thinking about the best move to make.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You remember dropping the knife and screaming, but you don't remember taking the gun or rope with you. Is that correct?

ARIAS: In a sense, that's correct. I remember that, dropping the knife and screaming and that memory came much later -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

ARIAS: I'm sorry. Can I --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overruled, overruled. You may continue.

ARIAS: But it goes blank after that. I don't remember putting the gun in the car. I don't remember putting the rope in the car, but I have, not crystal clear, but pretty solid memories of disposing of those things. So, they did go in the car, obviously, but I don't remember placing them in the car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are stating you believe you stabbed Travis based on logic, how do you explain the blood on your hands and clothes and the bloody palm print on the wall?

ARIAS: Well, I do know that we struggled that day. And, I mean, based on logic, it would have been because of how we fought. I don't know how things ended up where they ended up, I just know that we were fighting, physically.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you were kneeling when you dropped the camera, how did it roll as far as it did?

ARIAS: It didn't really roll very far. It just kind of gave a bounce or two and maybe rolled, like right here. It didn't roll very far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was Travis sitting down when you dropped the camera?

ARIAS: Yes, he was. I think so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did Travis' anger escalate after you shot him?

ARIAS: He -- I don't remember the words he was saying but he was angrier. He was screaming more, he was cursing more. And we had fallen over right after that shot occurred and he was grabbing at my clothes and grabbing at me. And, again, as soon as I broke away, he threatened my life so that was definitely an escalation in his anger. That's how I interpreted it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was he chasing you after you shot him in the head?

ARIAS: Right after the shot occurred, we had fallen over in the bathroom, again toward the sink back -- the sink and garbage can area kind of not corner, so he didn't chase me in that moment, but that's where we struggled on the floor. And, again, as soon as I broke away, he said f-ing (ph) kill you, bitch. I don't remember a lot after that. So, whether he chased me or not, I couldn't say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you purchased gas at the ARCO in Pasadena, why didn't you just fill everything up at the pump, so that it was all under one transaction? Why do three separate transactions? ARIAS: Well, what I do recall is when I filled the gas cans, rather than have just a loose gas hose somewhere, I didn't have anywhere to put it and so I hung it up. And when I hung it up, that ends the transaction. So, that's probably why if I could have either put them back in the trunk or where ever and then started the car or vice versa. At one point, I didn't want to just set it on the ground. So, I hung it up I know that ended the transaction, so that's probably why there was more than one. And maybe I was topping off the gas tank for another.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: During your testimony about the abuse by Travis, you have made several comments like, as I understand it now or I've come to realize, when discussing events that you may not have classified as abuse then, but see it as such now. Have you utilized professional help?

ARIAS: I have not had access to professional help, no. I haven't utilized that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you enjoy having sex with Travis?

ARIAS: For the most part, yes, I did very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he force you to do things you didn't want to do?

ARIAS: There were things I was uncomfortable with. I didn't feel all together forced. I went along with it. So I didn't -- he didn't physically force me or anything like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you wait for so long to tell the truth?

ARIAS: Again, it took -- it took a long time -- it took a long time for me to get to this point. I never wanted to admit to this. And I had written out all my suicide letters. I sent in the note -- I wrote something on the envelope to my grandmother, do not open until November 10, 2008. I was hoping to be dead by then. I was, like, giving myself a little time to get my affairs in order. That date rolled by and then more time rolled by and I was still here. So, with the evolution of just time and the years, a couple of years that went by, it was a gradual process and I began to feel not right about keeping it in instead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many times did you try to kill yourself?

ARIAS: I believe that was in California when I took apart my razor and was going to do that. That was the only serious attempt I had made. Other than that, it's just like ideation, thinking how I might be able to do this or that, things like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you decide to tell the truth if you never got arrested?

ARIAS: I honestly don't know the answer to that question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said that one of your worst fears was for everyone to find out what was going on in your relationship. So, why did you talk to "48 Hours" and other T.V. stations?

ARIAS: My attempt to talk to them was to present a better image of our relationship and down play the negative aspects. It's not really a big deal. It wasn't that bad. That kind of thing. Oh, yes, I knew that he did that, but that wasn't a big deal. Even our arguments. Oh, sure it was -- there was turmoil, it was rocky, but we were friends. So, my attempt was more to present a good image of Travis and a good image of myself and that our relationship had its ups and down, but we were still on good terms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You stated in the interview with detective Flores, that Travis liked to shave the old fashioned way. This would normally include the use of a traditional straight razor. Did Travis own or use a straight razor?

ARIAS: I don't think he did. When I was traditional way, I'm not overly familiar with the process of how men shave their faces. I just know that he really got into it. So, I think he used something that would be like a Bic, actually.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

ARIAS: A Bic razor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In testimony on March 5, 2013, you mentioned filling a third gas can. When and where did you get this can?

ARIAS: Can you repeat that? I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In testimony on March 5, 2013, you mentioned filling a third gas can. When and where did you get this can?

ARIAS: March 5? I believe that was -- that was a hypothetical. I didn't get -- I had a third can when I originally purchased one (INAUDIBLE.) I returned it before leaving for (INAUDIBLE.) So what we were doing is throwing out a hypothetical as to why would I only put two gallons in a third tank --or third can. So, that was a hypothetical. I only had two gas cans with me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) --

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're listening to responses from Jodi Arias there in Phoenix, Arizona. The questions being written by the jurors, one of only three states that do so. You're hearing about questions that are focusing on her memory of events, her interviews by a detective as well as a television show and questions also about whether she had any training and the use of guns. Her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, both shot and stabbed to death back in 2008. We'll have much more of this riveting trial underway there in Phoenix, Arizona right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back.

We're following the Jodi Arias trial this hour. If convicted of first degree murder, the 32-year-old could face the death penalty. They're about to undergo a short break and then will resume. She'll be listening to questions coming from the jurors. She is accused of murdering her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in June of 2008. Arias initially told police Alexander was killed by masked intruders, but then later changed her story, saying she stabbed Alexander 29 times, shot him in the head and slit his throat all in self-defense. Arias answering questions from the jury today. Something we rarely see a defendant do. And we warn you, testimony has been extremely graphic. Christi Paul explains the timeline prosecutors are trying to prove.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The prosecution's laid out a timeline detailing how Jodi Arias killed Travis Alexander.

At 5:29 p.m., Arias takes a picture of Alexander alive in the shower. Moments later, she stabs him in the chest. Prosecutors believe he was still alive and Arias followed him down the hall to the bedroom where she slashed his throat, then dragged his body back to the bathroom, accidentally taking pictures all along the way. Investigators believe once Arias got Alexander back to the bathroom, she shot him in the forehead. Based on the location of the shell casing, they believe that happened near the sink. And that then, his body was stuffed in the shower.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, again, gruesome testimony, gruesome pictures there. Very graphic in detail.

Several states allow the jury to ask a defendant questions. One hundred and fifty questions were actually submitted in this case. Arias' lawyers were allowed a time to look at those questions. Jurors may ask about a camera that Arias allegedly used before killing boyfriend Travis Alexander. And there likely will be more questions about the gun she allegedly used. They've already asked her about whether she had any training in the use of guns. Her attorneys are trying to prove that she did not steal a gun. So far, no gun has actually been found.

Arias was asked why she keeps forgetting part of the horrific killing. And at the end of the questioning, attorneys will be able to do some follow up as well. The defense may also bring in expert witnesses, like a domestic violence expert or perhaps even a psychologist. She has testified that she felt that she did this in self-defense, that she feared for her life.

So, how will the answers to these questions, how might that impact her case over all? "In Session" contributor and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson joining us now from New York.

So, Joey, the jurors questions even underscore that they have some, I guess, reservations about how she remembers certain details, but then in other cases she doesn't remember anything.

JOEY JACKSON, "IN SESSION" CONTRIBUTOR: You know what? It's really fascinating because they're the triers (ph) of facts. Think about what the role of a juror is and the collectively what the jury does. Their function is to cipher out what actually happened. And there's only one person on earth, Fredricka, who knows. That's Jodi Arias. That's the person that they're posing these questions to. And so, therefore, they're trying to get at the truth. What actually happened.

Was there anybody else who knows about your memory? Was there anyone else who witnessed his anger -- Travis Alexander's anger? What exactly occurred in the bathroom? In the shower? And so they're trying to get at it to determine whether or not justification, that is legally speaking self-defense, was really proper here or did she just murder him. And so I think they're really getting to the heart of it and I think this jury is focused and looking to ensure that justice is served.

WHITFIELD: Well, she is very poised and in control when answering these questions. Do you suppose that might even override what she does and doesn't say? In other words, how she even answers the questions in verbal details, is it kind of, you know, overshadowed by her physical demeanor?

JACKSON: Well, you know what, Fredricka, what we have to keep in mind is that she's had over four and a half years to think about this. Now, of course, the juror questions were not posed then, but you can certainly anticipate and know what you have to do, how you have to present, what you need to say in order to extricate yourself from this. And so in thinking about her demeanor, her responses, her tone, the manner in which she's answering the questions, the way she's viewing the jury, she, of course, is instructed by her attorneys, right, in terms of what to do, but you have to believe, just as us lawyers do before we go into court, anticipating, thinking, reflecting that she has a good sense of what she has to target, who she has to focus and what she has to say. And that's exactly what she's trying to do in order to spare her life.

WHITFIELD: And this is exhaustive. I mean, it really is tremendous that she has been on the stand for 17 days now. That seems to be very unusual to have a defendant on the stand that long. Is it paying off for the defense?

JACKSON: Well, you know, what happen is, is that the defense strategy is twofold. Number one, of course, they have to establish no premeditation. She didn't mean to do it. It was, of course, self- defense. And that while she may be a lair, she certainly is not a murder. OK. That's the one thing they have to do.

The second thing, though, Fredricka, is they're looking to spare her life. So by the number of days on the stand, they may be betting that there's some bond established between her and the jury. It's much harder to sentence someone to death who you feel that you know, who there's some type of relationship. You know who she is. And so what they're looking to do is to save her life. It's a risky move, however, because if they get the sense, Fredricka, that she's just lying her way out of this and besmirching Travis Alexander's character and walking over his grave, I mean literally by these statements she's making about the person she was, then they're going to have such a negative impression that it might, in fact, be easier for them to make the ultimate decision of that. So it's a calculated decision. Will it pay off? Boy, that jury has a tough thing to decide.

WHITFIELD: They sure do. Joey Jackson, thanks so much, in New York.

And, of course, we're going continue to watch the Jodi Arias trial as she is charged with her ex-boyfriend's murder. Much more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We continue to keep a close watch of the Jodi Arias trial. She is on the stand there. She's still entertaining questions that have been written by the jurors and being posed by the judge.

All right, meantime, another case we continue to follow now. He just wanted to get out of New Mexico, but wound up in solitary confinement there for two years. Now, Steven Slevin has been awarded $15.5 million. Slevin was arrested for a DWI and accused of stealing a truck. He was tossed in jail, then solitary confinement for two years. Slevin says he was neglected so badly that his toenails grew around his feet and he was not allowed to even take a shower.

So, to pick up the story from here, Victor Blackwell. Much more on this.

And it does have one wondering if this happens to him, how often does something like this happen? Because this is all before he ever had a trial, right?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was no trial.

WHITFIELD: No trial.

BLACKWELL: At the end of this, the charges were just dropped. I mean this man, he says, had to pull his own tooth because he was so neglected by the dentist at the prison. 2005, Steven Slevin arrested for DWI. He was put in a cell alone primarily because of a history of depression, mental issues. He never had this trial. And aside from a few days of evaluation at a behavioral center and seven days of rec, he just sat in that cell for 22 months.

WHITFIELD: Was it an issue of, they forgot that he even existed, or was this, you know, a denial of due process?

BLACKWELL: Partly both. I spoke with a representative from Dona Ana County this morning and he told me that, yes, it was a failure of the management at the prison, but also the legal community. There was never a trial date set. Attorneys never asked for him. Nothing ever happened on that end. So he just sat there. Fungus grew on his skin. He had anxiety attacks every day. Charges dropped in 2007. He then sued the county and managers. Initially, he was awarded $22 million. But after mediation, it was dropped to $15.5. Let's listen now to Steven Slevin on the day he won that case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVEN SLEVIN, WON SETTLEMENT: Walking by me every day watching me deteriorate day after day after day and did nothing, nothing at all, to get me any help. I wanted people to know that the people in the Dona Ana County Jail that are doing things like this to people and getting away with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes, the first payments of $12 million will be today or tomorrow wired to him. But here's another element. He's suffering from lung cancer and he's going through chemo therapy.

WHITFIELD: Oh. Oh, my goodness.

BLACKWELL: So the question is, how long will he live? Because he's already outlived the prognosis from his doctors.

WHITFIELD: Oh, extraordinary. Wow. You have to keep us posed on that one. That really is a jaw dropper of a case.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, this one, this is an interesting situation that has a whole lot of people scared along the Atlantic Coast. We're talking about sharks and spring breakers. Not a good mix. And a lot of sharks are being spotted off the Florida coast. Just take a look at that image right there. This is the view off Palm Beach. Thousands of sharks have been heading north along the south Florida shore and now some beaches are closed there. Biologists say the migration started at the beginning of the month. Our George Howell is in Boca Raton, Florida.

So, George, how concerned are people? I see a lot of people on the sand, but not in the water.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think there is some concern. You see that several of the beaches just down south of us, Deerfield Beach, was closed for about 30 minutes. But, Fredricka, you know, these sharks, they're always nearby, just in smaller numbers. Right now, though, you can see a lot of them. We're talking about thousands of these black tipped sharks. They're all migrating north to warmer waters. And again, you see lifeguards, you see them taking precautions. As these sharks come by, they will shut the beaches down for, you know, 30 minutes at a time for the sharks to pass. So but keeping a very close eye on things.

I want to go ahead and bring in -- just come on in -- a marine biologist here whose been telling me a lot about these sharks.

Tell me, first of all, the nature of the sharks. Is this a real danger? SHARI TELLMAN, MARINE BIOLOGIST, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY: These sharks pass through these waters about this time every year. Through February and March, we see them in large numbers. They're small sharks. They're only about four to five feet in length. And they're chasing small bait fish. So not really a concern for swimmers offshore here.

HOWELL: So, when we see them close down the beaches, that precaution, is that pretty important to make sure people don't get in there?

TELLMAN: It's just that. It's a precautionary measure. When you're having a guarded beach full of swimmers and an ocean full of sharks, sometimes the mix isn't the best. So it's just safer to keep them out of the water when there's so many (INAUDIBLE).

HOWELL: Shari and I were talking earlier. This is obviously your passion. You love following this. And I've learned so much about sharks today from you. Thank you so much.

TELLMAN: No problem.

HOWELL: And, you know, the thing about it is, you find that people are staying out of the water. This has been happening for several days and will continue. It happens between February and March. So, Fredricka, we could continue to see it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. OK. Well, I'm sure people will heed the warnings and most likely stay out of the water for a while.

HOWELL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Especially if the postings say so.

All right, thanks so much, George Howell. Appreciate that. From Boca Raton.

All right, coming up, a 24-year-old girl is attacked and killed by a lion. Now her internship at a wildcat sanctuary is being very much evaluated. It turned deadly. The latest on the lion attack in California.

Plus, we'll continue to watch the Jodi Arias trial. She is charged with her boyfriend's murder. They're taking a break right now, but we'll be bring that to you live when they resume.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)