Jodi Arias Trial: Arias Asking to Remove Death Penalty From Consideration
Jodi Arias is back in court today to ask the judge to throw out the "especially cruel" finding that made her eligible for the death penalty. The sentencing phase of her trial is set to begin any day now, but Arias and her lawyers are hoping to avoid the death penalty.
Even though Arias was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Travis Alexander, she is hoping to avoid the death penalty she initially claimed she wanted. The jury in that case deemed that Alexander's death was "especially cruel," which made her eligible to receive the death penalty.
Alexander was stabbed nearly 30 times, had his throat slit and was shot. While the jury found Arias guilty of murder, they failed to reach a unanimous decision as to her sentencing. A new jury will be selected and will hopefully be able to reach a decision one way or the other. Should Arias escape the death penalty, she could receive life in prison with or without parole.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The new jury cannot override the previous jury's "guilty" verdict; its sole purpose is to determine a sentence. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery is hoping to avoid another trial and mediate a sentence with Arias, Alexander's family, and prosecutors.
If the new jury could not reach a unanimous decision, the death penalty would automatically be removed from the realm of possibilities, meaning that Arias would serve a life sentence.
The case gained notoriety because of the extreme violence and Arias' behavior afterwards. She claimed early on that no jury would ever convict her, but once the jury rendered a guilty verdict, Arias insisted that she wanted the death penalty and would "rather die sooner than later."
Arias has remained in the public eye thanks to help from friends who post Tweets through her account. If she receives the death penalty, she will be the first woman in Arizona to do so.
