Forensic Psychology Case Study

On the night of June 4, 2008, Jodi Arias killed Travis Alexander inside his house, leaving much evidence behind as she fled the bloody scene. During Jodi’s subsequent trial, the prosecution painted her as a psychotic stalker, an obsessive ex-girlfriend who murdered Travis out of rage for leaving her. The defensive council, on the other hand, attempted to communicate the Jodi’s claim of domestic abuse at the hand of Travis Alexander, and thus argued that she killed him out of self-defense. The defendant was, undoubtedly, guilty of killing Travis. The jury in the trial then had to decide not between guilty and innocent, but between premediated first degree murder and death as a result of self-defense. Complicating the case, however, were Arias’ many lies, which included her changing the story of Travis’ death three different times.
These expert witnesses diagnosed Ms. Arias with various disorders in an attempt to either incriminate her or ease the burden of guilt. Most notable were the testimonies of prosecution witness Janeen DeMarte, and defense witness Richard Samuels. As forensic psychologists, their statements to the court regarding Jodi’s mental state clarified otherwise obscure and contradictory testimony. This paper describes the roles and origins of forensic psychology, the field’s relation to the Jodi Arias case, and a relation between the case and a Biblical worldview. Prevalent news sources are featured sources in this paper, with biases often in favor of the prosecution for the Jodi Arias case. No sources referenced contain biases in favor of Jodi