Jodi Arias will have to wait a few more months, at least, to find out her fate for killing her former boyfriend, Travis Alexander. The judge declared a mistrial on Thursday after jurors failed to reach an agreement on whether Arias deserves life in prison or the death penalty.
Arias, 32, has already been convicted of first degree murder in Alexander’s 2008 death. The jury has also decided that the woman’s crime was cruel enough to warrant the death penalty.
However, the jury panel could not agree on Arias’ sentence . The mistrial means that the prosecutor must now decide whether to retry the penalty phase of the case.
If a retrial takes place, a second jury will be picked and would begin hearing evidence for and against the death penalty sentence on July 18. If the prosecutor decides against a retrial, Arias will get life in prison, either with or without parole.
In a written statement, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery explained that the prosecutors office has not decided what it plans to do. Montgomery explained :
“We appreciate the jury’s work in the guilt and aggravation phases of the trial and now we will assess, based upon available information, what the next steps will be.”
The judge has set a status conference for June 20 to hear what the prosecution plans to do. For now, the prosecution plans to retry the penalty phase of Jodi Arias’ case.
In most states with the death penalty, failure for the jury to unanimously agree means that the accused is automatically sentenced to life in prison. That is not the case in Arizona.
Instead, the penalty phase may be tried with up to two juries. If they cannot agree on a penalty, the judge has the task of sentencing the convicted to either life in prison or 25 years in prison. The prosecution can also decide not to retry the penalty phase, meaning Arias would get life in prison.
For now, Jodi Arias will remain at the women’s jail in Phoenix, Arizona. She is housed in a seven-by-11 foot cell for 23 hours per day.
