For Juan Martinez, the Jodi Arias trial was another day at the office
Feb 22, 2016, 9:16 AM | Updated: 12:29 pm
Juan Martinez. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
“Mr. Juanderful.” “The Hero.” “The Pitbull.” “The Top Prosecutor.” “An angel.”
These are all names that have been used to describe Juan Martinez, the man who prosecuted Jodi Arias.
Martinez, a deputy county attorney for Maricopa County, spent seven years working to send Arias to Death Row.
Although just one juror kept her from the ultimate sentence, she is spending the rest of her life in prison thanks to the efforts of Martinez and his team.
During the spectacle that was the Arias trial, his determination never lessened and his conviction never wavered. He was there to do his job. Travis Alexander had been murdered and Martinez’s job was to bring justice to the person that took Alexander’s life.
During the most sensational trial our country — perhaps our globe — has ever seen, Martinez was required to remain silent. He could not tell his side of the story or answer the many questions posed to him by trial watchers across the world. He had to sit by and watch Arias hold center court in media interviews and keep his head down, continuing to focus on the goal.
Arias was sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison on April 13, 2015. When Martinez left the courtroom that day, he left Arias behind him and went on to his next case, but he no longer remained silent.
On Feb. 16, his book “Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars” was released. It quickly soared to be one of the top 10 on Amazon’s Best Seller Nonfiction List and, for the first time, the world was able to read about the trial from Martinez’s point of view.
I was able to ask Martinez about his experience and his book and his answers were enlightening and fulfilling. The Arias trial, for a short period of time, burned hotter than the surface of the sun, but for Martinez, it was just another day at the office.
