Deadlocked Arias jurors can't reach verdict; mistrial declared

[Tx4obama]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- An Arizona jury Thursday said it was unable to reach a unanimous agreement and would be unable to decide what penalty Jodi Arias should receive for killing her ex-boyfriend.

Judge Sherry Stephens declared a mistrial for the penalty phase of the trial. That means a new jury will be chosen, but the first-degree murder conviction still stands.

A new penalty phase in the case will begin on July 18, Stephens said.

Since Tuesday, jurors had been deliberating whether Arias, 32, should get a death sentence for murdering her ex-boyfriend in 2008.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/23/justice/arizona-jodi-arias-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

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A new Jury will be picked for 'only' the penalty phase (death penalty or life in prison)

The previous 'guilty' verdict and the 'aggravation found' verdict will stand.

Court will resume on July 18th to impanel a 'new jury'.

Then prosecution and defense will be able to present evidence to the 'new jury'.

Once the trial resumes it could take months - we might be looking at September or October (?) - before a penalty phase verdict is reached.

If the 'new jury' is unanimous on 'death penalty' Arias will go straight to death row.

If the 'new jury' is unanimous on 'life' it will be up to the Judge to decide 'life in prison with no parole' OR 'life in prison with possibility of parole after 25 years.

If the 'new jury' does not reach a unanimous decision then there will be another mistrial declared, the jury will be dismissed, the death penalty will be off the table, and then the Judge will decide life in prison with no parole' OR 'life in prison with possibility of parole after 25 years
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Jodi Arias stabbed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander 29 times (while still alive), slit his neck from ear to ear, and shot him in the head.
She is a monster!

[onehandle]

1. Pretty much guaranteeing she won't get death.

Me. I would want death over life in prison.

[PatrynXX]

2. it's a show trial

media is doing a whoop ass right about now

[CanSocDem]

4. I'm sure...

...there will be lot's of 'unofficial' jurors on this thread. A "show" thread!!

.

[texanwitch]

3. I have not been following this trial but why the problem.

Just give here life in prison and be done with it.

Life at her age is a long time.

[secondwind]

5. She wants to be put to death, so I hope they give her life.

[Tx4obama]

8. No, she said in the interviews Tuesday evening that she doen't want to die because...

it would hurt her family too much.

[rocktivity]

11. Oldest trick in the book

Get the jury to "punish" her by denying her "desire" for death...


rocktivity

[Orrex]

24. Maybe they'll throw her in the briar patch

[defacto7]

23. She played both cards.

She is into the power/control feature of media hype. She has determined that no matter which way it goes she gets what she wants. It is the way of the sociopath. If the media would get out of the way she would get what she deserves. Instead, she get fame!! and control!!! That's all it's about.

The media sucks.

[The Last Dem.]

6. Show trial,

I agree.

[naaman fletcher]

7. As usual in these show trials, the prosecutors over-reached.

And the end result is injustice.

[Tx4obama]

9. So if someone in your family was stabbed 30 times, throat slit ear to ear, and shot in the head...

and then the prosecutor asked for the death penalty for the murder you think that would be over-reaching?

I don't think so.

[naaman fletcher]

12. What does that have to do anything?

Are prosecutors supposed to follow the law and seek justice or follow the whims of the victims family?

[Tx4obama]

18. The prosecutor in this case is following the law. n/t

[hrmjustin]

26. How do you think the prosecutors got it wrong?

[naaman fletcher]

27. They over-charged

The woman was nuts and totally manipulated by the guy, and they went and charged her as a death penalty case.

[hrmjustin]

28. I am against the death penalty so I think she should get life.

I have a hard time believing a word she says. But I do think that trial was a mess.

[sinkingfeeling]

32. In what circumstance would you seek the death penalty? This was a

barbaric premeditated murder. Jodi isn't nuts and she was never abused.

[naaman fletcher]

35. Well,

I am against the death penalty, but leaving that aside, if she wasn't nuts and it was premeditated and never abused I would agree that the death penalty would be ok.

But I think she was nuts, abused, and broken down.

[rocktivity]

10. Whew, I thought she'd been acquitted of the top charge

Last edited Thu May 30, 2013, 09:29 PM - Edit history (1)

So not all of the jurors could bring themselves to bring her to death? Would they have felt the same if the genders of the murderer and victims had been switched? Or if she'd been minority?


rocktivity

[alp227]

39. Minority? She is hispanic. N/t

[Gore1FL]

13. I believe the death penalty is wrong in all cases.

I'd hang a jury in such a situation.

That doesn't take away from her guilt.

Besides, it's cheaper to incarcerate than to kill.

[Cirque du So-What]

14. I doubt I'd get the opportunity to hang a jury

When the jurors were questioned prior to selection, the prosecutor would kick me out on the first round.

[DeadLetterOffice]

22. Me too.

I'd never survive voir dire.
Prosecutors hate letting social workers sit on juries.
Which kind of sucks, actually, because we're generally cool, educated, think-it-through folks.

[hrmjustin]

29. I would be honest about the fact I do not think I could send someone to their death.

[AtheistCrusader]

36. High-Five.

I've been the first juror dismissed twice. Not to get out of jury duty, but for being honest.

Prosecutors want a jury of your peers too slow and stupid to escape jury duty. They don't want people who think critically, who listen to news sources like NPR or The Guardian. I mean, really. That came up.

[KittyWampus]

15. The time to object to the death penalty is when they are interviewing jurors before the trial>

not after the trial and during deliberations.

I don't think you realize how screwed up your post is.

[Gore1FL]

21. OK. please forgive me for my inexperience in death penalty cases.

In any event:

The death penalty is wrong in all cases.
Not being killed by the state doesn't detract from her guilt.
It's cheaper to incarcerate than to kill.

[gopiscrap]

25. I fully agree with you!!!

[sinkingfeeling]

33. Then you would have to lie on the jury forms. To serve in a death

penalty case, one must state that they do not object to the state killing somebody and that they could, in fact, vote for death.

[Gore1FL]

34. I've been told this three times now.

in any event:

The death penalty is wrong in all cases.
Not being killed by the state doesn't detract from her guilt.
It's cheaper to incarcerate than to kill.

[former9thward]

16. This trial has been an enormous waste of money.

The judge let both sides get out of control. Both the prosecution and defense were allowed to put on repetitive testimony and ask the same questions over and over. Arias will not get the death penalty. Even if she gets an 'official' death penalty it can takes decades to administer the death penalty in AZ. The death penalty will be officially eliminated in a few years. Not because of any moral grounds but because it has become just too expensive with all the appeals. When they end it Arias' sentence will revert to life.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

17. If a man did this, it would be instant death, especially a minority man (black, latino, etc)

I don't understand the hung jury, unless people have an easier time sentencing minorities and men to death and not a woman.

Another reason I believe the death penalty is biased.

[Tx4obama]

19. There are currently only three women on death row in Arizona, not even a whole handful. n/t

[DRoseDARs]

20. Oh, the groundhog saw its shadow so I guess that means we get 6 more fucking months of this. Super.

eom

[ChazII]

30. Make up was give to Arias by a

local affiliate. I know this is not important in the big picture but it was mentioned on Extra this evening. To be fair, the station did announce that they followed Jodi's request (demands?) for the interview. The others included no showing her fixing her hair, a sweater so people would not see her jail strips or the shackles. Oh and to be filmed from the waist up.

[davidpdx]

31. I hope she gets life

If she gets life with the chance at parole in 25 years it would be a grave injustice. She would be eligible for parole at 58.

[Tx4obama]

37. Minus the 5 years she has already served in jail, so she would be 53 yrs old

Jodi Arias was born on July 9, 1980

[davidpdx]

40. Oh god, I forgot about time served

That would be a bad scenario.

[The Stranger]

38. The judge should send them back to deliberate more.

The trial was months long.

They can stand the wait for a real verdict.

[davidpdx]

41. I agree, I think sitting a new jury for the penalty phase could end up in a deadlock

as well or them deciding on the least amount of time (25 years). As Tx pointed out she's already served 5 years, if she's given time served then she'd be eligible for parole at 53. I highly doubt the new jury will choose the death penalty (which I hope they don't).

Also everybody knows if the jury comes back with life without parole or the death penalty her defense team is going to motion for a mistrial on the penalty phase.

[Union Scribe]

42. The weird thing is that it was the verdict.

From my understanding they had three options, death, life, and no unanimous agreement (apparently unique to AZ to have that as an actual option for them to choose). Once they gave the latter as their verdict, the judge really couldn't do anything to keep it going.

[The Stranger]

43. Hmph. That is weird.

Thanks for the info.