Hung Jury in Jodi Arias Trial, Death Penalty Now Not a Possibility

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Summary: Since a second jury has been unable to decide whether Jodi Arias should receive the death penalty for killing her former boyfriend, the death penalty is no longer a possibility.

For the second time, a jury was unable to agree as to whether Jodi Arias should receive the death penalty for the 2008 murder of Travis Alexander, her ex-boyfriend, HLNtv.com reports.

  

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Judge Sherry Stephens announced the news on Thursday. After the verdict was read in the courtroom, Arias quietly sat with her attorneys while relatives of Alexander’s cried out in court. Fox News reports that Samantha Alexander, Travis’ sister, sobbed after the verdict was read. According to the jurors, they were divided 11-1 as to whether Arias should face the death penalty.

The penalty phase began September 8.

Since this is the second jury that has not reached a unanimous decision on the death penalty, the death penalty is no longer a possibility for Arias. Arias, who was previously convicted for Alexander’s murder, will either face life in prison, or life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years. Arias has already served six years in prison, and those years will be credited to her sentence.

Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2013. Since the jury also found that the murder was exceedingly cruel, she was eligible for the death penalty. However, that jury was unable to decide whether Arias should be put to death for her crime.

After the verdict’s reading, the Alexander family issued a statement saying they are “…saddened by the jury’s inability to reach a decision on the death penalty. However, they understand the difficulty of the decision, and have nothing but respect for the jury’s time.”

As of last January, Arias’ legal bills were around $2 million, all of which was paid by taxpayers in Arizona.

Kirk Nurmi, Arias’ attorney, said, “Obviously, as I said, during the closing arguments, during the opening statements, and several times during the trial, that the events of June 4, 2008 were a tragedy, and the no verdict ultimately could repair that sadness. I don’t think today’s victory will repair any sadness or change anything but we hope it can begin the closure process for all those who were affected by that tragedy. Thank you.”

Read about the conclusion of the first trial here.

The jury that was chosen for the penalty phase retrial received the case on February 25. After 26 hours, the judge decided that the jury was hung. The jury was selected back in October.

Interestingly, although Arias testified for 18 days during the first trial, she did not take the stand in her retrial, according to ABC News.

Arias will remain at the Lumley Unit in the Arizona State Prison Complex—Perryville.

Source: HLNtv.com

Photo credit: people.com, m.deseretnews.com (Nurmi)