Jodi Arias Trial: Judge Declares Mistrial After Hung Jury
— -- The jury could not reach an unanimous decision in the sentencing of convicted killer Jodi Arias and the judge declared a mistrial.
The verdict, released today, comes after a second jury considered her case because the first jury, which convicted her of murder two years ago, could also not agree on whether to sentence her to death.
Now that this second jury was hung, Judge Sherry Stephens is tasked with deciding Arias' sentence: whether she will be in prison for life or have the possibility for parole after 25 years. The death penalty is no longer a possibility.
Arias appeared in court beside her lawyers looking stoic and expressing no emotion. There were audible sobs from the audience in the courtroom, however, which appeared to come from one of Travis Alexander's sisters, who testified during the original trial.
Arias was found guilty in May 2013 for killing her on-off boyfriend Alexander after a lengthy trial.
Her first case gained national attention as the testimony was live-streamed and she shared extensive, explicit details about her alleged sexual encounters with Alexander that led up to her stabbing him multiple times in the shower at his Arizona home in 2008.
The trial jury found her guilty of first-degree murder but deadlocked on whether to sentence her to life in prison or death.
A second jury, which was handed the case on Feb. 25, was called in for the penalty retrial with cameras prohibited after the spectacle of the first. The judge had ruled that the announcement of the decision would be televised, however.
Another difference from the first trial came in the form of Arias' participation, or lack thereof. The now-34-year-old photographer testified for 18 days during the first trial but she never took the stand in her retrial.
