The panel heard emotional comments last week from the family of victim Travis Alexander as the prosecutor argued that the year-old Arias should be executed for the gruesome killing. Arias responded Tuesday by pleading for mercy, saying she can become a model prisoner who teaches inmates how to read and speak Spanish, and helps the prison launch recycling programs.
She also wants to be an advocate for domestic violence victims. The same jury of eight men and four women convicted Arias of first-degree murder two weeks ago in the death of Alexander, who was stabbed about 30 times and nearly decapitated in what authorities said was a jealous rage.
Arias spoke to The Associated Press and other media outlets in jailhouse interviews Tuesday night, just hours after the jury began deliberating her fate.
Then her attorney asked jurors to sentence her to life in prison. The prosecutor asked them to sentence her to death. The jury left the courtroom and stayed until about 4 p. Jurors are supposed to be back today to resume deliberation, and the feeling around the courthouse is that they will not take long to reach a decision.
Arias, who has always seemed to like the media attention, agreed to meet with several media outlets after court, in what may turn out to be the last night she can do so before being whisked away to prison. Ironically, she has not seen the media storm her case has created. The jury reported its impasse after only about two and a half hours of deliberations. Judge Sherry Stephens instructed jurors to try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement as they work toward a decision.
Under Arizona law, a hung jury in the death penalty phase of a trial requires a new jury to be seated to decide the punishment. If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge would then sentence Arias to spend her entire life in prison or be eligible for release after 25 years.
In the event of a hung jury in the Arias trial, the case could drag on for several more months, said former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley. However, the new jury would have to review evidence and hear opening statements, closing arguments and witness testimony in a "Cliffs Notes" version of the trial, Romley said. Romley also noted that if the current jury deadlocks, the prosecutor could decide to take the death penalty off the table. It marked the second time a jury was unable to reach a decision on her punishment — a disappointment for prosecutors who argued for the death penalty during the nearly seven-year legal battle.
Arias' trial became a sensation with its tawdry revelations about her relationship with Alexander and that she shot him in the head and slit his throat so deeply that he was nearly decapitated. It was broadcast live and TV audiences heard how Arias had stabbed and slashed Alexander nearly 30 times then left his body in his shower at his suburban Phoenix home, where friends found him about five days later.
The jury convicted her of first-degree murder but deadlocked on punishment, prompting the sentencing retrial that began in October. Prosecutors say Arias killed Alexander as revenge because he wanted to date other women and was planning a trip to Mexico with his latest love interest. During closing arguments in the penalty retrial, prosecutor Juan Martinez repeatedly showed jurors gruesome crime scene photos of the victim's slit throat.
The images were a counterpoint to the happy photos of Arias that her attorney displayed in arguing there was more to her life than her actions in the killing.
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