The second jury in charge of sentencing for Jodi Arias has come back unable to make a unanimous decision. This means the jury is hung, a mistrial declared, and Jodi will automatically get life in prison.
This retrial process started in October 2014?but the final jury heard evidence for?five days and deliberated for three. The jurors sent Judge Stephens two notes prior to the verdict announcement, saying that jurors had made up their minds and were unable to come to a consensus. According to Arizona law, if the second jury cannot reach a decisions, the defendant will automatically get life.
The sentencing will now take place on April 13 and Judge Stephens will decide whether Arias will be eligible for parole release after 25 years in prison.
Victim Travis Alexander’s family was heard weeping in the court room after the decision and our hearts definitely go out to them. The family spoke to the media after briefly saying:
“The real justice will be in the afterlife.”
My thoughts are also with the Arias family, who many have forgotten. I do not know how close they are to Jodi, but I am sure no one wants to see their loved one killed, whether by an individual act or or the United States government. This entire process has been an ordeal for them as well.
In May of 2013 Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder. In the initial sentencing trial, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict either, which led to this second and final sentencing trial.
At the age of 30, Travis Alexander was found dead in June of 2008. Jodi Arias brutally killed him by stabbing him almost 30 times, shooting him in the head, and slicing his throat.
Arias, for the record, has said that she wished what happened to Alexander didn’t take place and that she does hope to make a positive difference in prison, and only time will tell if the latter is true. But still, her crime is so barbaric in nature that many believed she would get the death penalty.
Jodi Arias committed an egregious crime, that is without question. From a personal standpoint as well as public policy view, I am opposed to the death penalty. But we all hope that?Alexander’s family can have some sort of peace and seek comfort in knowing that God will be the ultimate judge of Arias, not us.
