At this point, a lot of people are wondering exactly what Jodi Arias's defense team has that has resulted in a second mistrial. Arias admittedly killed her lover Travis Alexander in 2008, and while her reasons for doing so have changed, the fact that it was overkill did not. This morning, March 5, the jury that has spent months listening to details during the penalty phase of this case decided that they cannot agree on a punishment. She has escaped the death penalty with a second hung jury.
According to a report by NBC News, "The judge declared a mistrial. It was the second time that a jury could not come to an agreement on whether Arias should be put to death or serve life in prison. In court in Phoenix, relatives of the victim, Travis Alexander, sobbed. The judge read a note from the foreperson of the jury: 'In my assessment, we are hung, and additional time will not change this.' The judge herself will now decide whether Arias should get a life sentence or should have the possibility of release after 25 years."
Arias, 34, pled guilty years ago to the killing and a jury also deadlocked during the first penalty phase in 2013. Alexander was shot, stabbed repeatedly and had his throat slit so badly that he was almost decapitated. Arias's story has shifted through the years, with her accusing Alexander of violence and also of being a pedophile. The original case became a media circus, so this second penalty phase was conducted behind closed doors.
Are you surprised Arias escaped the death penalty a second time? Do you think there is a piece of this case that has been withheld from the public that made it more difficult for jurors to sentence her to death? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
