Jodi Arias Trial, Case Latest News: Mistrial Declared, Jury Reveals Why No Verdict Reached
Arizona judge Sherry Stephens declared a mistrial in the sentencing phase of the Jodi Arias murder case after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
It took one juror to spare the life of Arias on Thursday, March 5. In the end, the jury voted 11-1 in favor of death. The deadlock took the death penalty off the table and left Judge Stephens to decide whether to sentence Arias to life in prison or to life with a possibility of release after 25 years. That decision is expected at a hearing which will take place on April 13.
Arias was convicted in 2013 of killing her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, but that jury also deadlocked on her punishment, prompting the sentencing retrial that began in October.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The jurors, with the exception of the holdout, spoke about their feelings on the case in a group audio news conference with "Good Morning America." Though they agreed to talk about why they could not reach a verdict, they asked for their faces and names to not be revealed.
"Eleven of us strived for justice for Travis, but to no avail," said one of the jurors. "We absolutely thought [the punishment] should be death."
It was said that the holdout, who was initially an alternate juror, seemed to come in with more knowledge about the case than the others, having told the other jurors that she had seen "bits and pieces" about the Lifetime movie about Arias that aired after the initial trial.
One female juror said, "I think she came in and expected to see a monster in there because of what she saw on TV and the news and when she came in and saw it wasn't."
A male juror said that he was angry with the holdout.
"I feel that the one holdout had her mind made up from the beginning and what angered me was the biggest thing that angered me was that she alluded that the death penalty would be a form of revenge," he said.
Throughout the sentencing retrial, the jurors said that they have struggled physically and emotionally for the past five months.
"We've had nightmares," said a female juror. "I think every single one of us has had nightmares and I hope they go away."
