Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias

Sorry, everything's a bit cold this morning.

Thanks to Jodi Arias,

I've had my life threatened repeatedly,

I've been attacked.

I lost my job and my family.

For a while, I was the second most-hated person in America.

Marked by the devil herself.

I think I'm okay with a bit of cold.

Let's start with your name.

Donavan Bering.

D-O-N...

A-V-A-N...

I thought being sent to jail was my rock bottom.

Now I know, it wasn't even close.

My plan was simple: to survive.

Take one day at a time and just get through it.

What wasn't in the plan?

Falling in love.

Watch out for Rosie today.

She's looking for someone to punish.

Well, she's always been nice to me.

Nobody's nice in here.

You understand that, right?

Okay.

Babe, trust me.

The ones that aren't getting out,

they've got nothing to lose.

If I hadn't met you, I don't think I would have made it.

Yeah, but you did.

And you will.

Stay by my side, I got you.

Y'all hear what's for lunch today?

Prime ribs with baby baked potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Or a chunk moldy bread Arpaio found in a dumpster.

No.

Lemon meringue pie for dessert.

Seriously, shut up.

Or...

- Chocolate fudge cake. - Oh, yeah.

- You see what you started? - Yup.

Warm raspberry crumble with vanilla ice cream just melting on top.

That's the one.

Meeting Tracy made jail survivable.

Now I, we, had a new plan.

Do our time, live happily ever after.

And then, Jodi Arias walked through the door.

Yeah...

None of us had access to the news.

While the rest of the world knew her as the woman

who'd soon be on trial for murdering her boyfriend,

all we knew was she didn't look like she belonged here.

Snitch.

She won't last long.

There's only one empty bunk that way.

Hell no!

Brown... Brown!

There's no way I'm bunking with a snitch!

- Get out! - Hey!

This ain't summer camp, Brown.

You don't get to choose who you bunk with.

You want to get written up?

Hey!

Got a new girlfriend, Brown?

I guess they're not even trying to disguise snitches anymore.

God, it's like dropping a baby bunny into a coyotes' den.

I know, right.

A snitch can get your charges upped,

get you sent to the hole.

- But we haven't done anything. - It doesn't matter!

Never forget where you are.

I won't, I promise.

Goodnight.

Did she say anything?

What is she doing in there all day?

Drawing, writing.

"Dear diary, I'm starting to reconsider my life as a snitch."

I know how we can find out for sure.

Ask her to do something illegal.

So you never thought about it?

Tattoos?

You'd be good at it.

- Well, how would we... - There are ways.

You in?

Can I do the first one on you?

Sure.

Getting your hands on the stuff you need to do jail tattoos is easy.

But tattooing is a major infraction,

right up there with doing drugs or fighting.

If you're caught, you could lose all your privileges and end up in solitary.

No snitch would take the risk.

You need it to be a fine powder.

- Thanks. - For what?

Trusting me to do this.

I felt so alone coming here, this means...

It means a lot.

Now, shampoo.

Just a drop.

Alright.

You know what happens if you get caught, right?

Can I ask you a question?

You mean "the" question?

How'd I end up here?

You don't have to answer.

Same as everybody.

Bad choices.

I was with a guy who tied somebody up,

beat him, left him for dead.

I thought he was gonna kill me too.

I was high and...

I don't trust cops.

I got charged like I did it.

I'm not going home for a long time.

And your... girlfriend?

Did you know her before?

No. Met here...

day she arrived.

And her bad choice?

She trusted somebody that burned a business down for insurance money.

She found out about it, didn't snitch.

So, they put in her in maximum security?

She's from Alaska.

They thought she was a flight risk.

I'm so sorry for what you've both gone through.

It doesn't seem fair.

What about you?

I'm not supposed to talk about it.

Is this hurting?

It looks like it would.

It's fine.

There was so much blood.

Sorry...

It's just that...

Travis, my boyfriend...

he was murdered.

Stabbed and shot right in front of me.

What do you think so far?

You'll get better with practice.

It'll be great when it's done.

Trust me.

Hey...

I finally got a crystal they can't take from me.

So, she's okay?

Yeah, I think so...

Hey!

This is Donavan.

I'm Jodi.

Initials of my niece and nephew.

And now I appreciate the skill those took.

I have another one on my back and a Buddha on my leg.

- You're Buddhist? - Since I was 22.

I asked my mom to send me books.

There's one about Buddhism on my list.

I'll share it with you.

I'm actually Mormon now.

I converted for my boyfriend, Travis.

For me, really, for us.

But I'm fascinated by all religions.

Tracy's Wiccan.

When I was younger, I had a boyfriend who was Wiccan,

so it was a big part of my life too.

What I love most both about Buddhism and Wicca

is the emphasis on nature.

When you strip everything else away, all the stuff that doesn't matter,

that's what we have left, nature.

And love...

Sorry, sometimes I talk too much about subjects

I'm really passionate about.

That's okay.

I think it's beautiful that you two found each other.

Here, of all places.

I think it was Anne Frank who wrote,

"I don't think of all the misery,"

"but of the beauty that still remains."

Does anybody want this? I don't need it.

I'll take it.

Of course we liked her.

She was smart, she was interesting.

And she wasn't like anybody else we'd ever met.

"Pernicious."

You realize none of this is sinking in, right?

Okay well, how about a word from yesterday then?

"Duress."

We're being forced to learn words under duress.

See?

"Pernicious."

No clue.

"Causing great harm or damage in a way that is not easily seen or noticed."

Let's do another one.

Mom, I just miss you...

Thank you so much.

What was that about?

Nothing.

She needed to call her family, but she couldn't afford it.

You put money on her phone account?

Do you even know her?

She needed her mom.

There's this one or...?

I want something to symbolize my love for Tracy.

My boyfriend Travis used to do that.

He wouldn't even have to say anything.