UPDATE: Court not prepared to set date for Jodi Arias penalty-phase trial today; hearing on pre-trial motions set for Sept 16 – @AMYABC15
Back in court at 11:30 a.m ET/ 8:30 a.m. PT is Jodi Arias for the retrial of the penalty phase of her convicted murder. Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her then-boyfriend though a mistrial was declared in the penalty phase as the jury was unable to reach a decision on whether Arias would spend the rest of her life in prison without the chance for parole or be sentenced to death.
The hearing today is focused on Judge Sherry Stephens and when she plans on continuing with the courtroom proceedings. Arias was convicted on May 8. Defense attorneys for Arias are hoping to keep the retrial from achieving the viral status the murder trial did, having filed a motion asking the judge to keep cameras out, or to at least forbid the trial from being broadcast live to the public. Whether that motion extends to today’s hearing remains to be seen, though the judge could make a ruling on live broadcasts throughout the retrial today.
Watch the Jodi Arias penalty phase retrial hearing here:
If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, Arias will automatically be sentenced to life in prison. Then, Judge Stephens will decide if she will get life without parole or life with eligibility for parole after 25 years.
The Jodi Arias murder trial captivated the nation throughout its entirety due to its graphic sexual nature and gruesome execution of Travis Alexander. He was stabbed numerous times, has his throat slashed from ear-to-ear, and was shot in the head. He and Arias has been engaged in a long-term relationship that she claims was abusive, though was noted in court for featuring sexually explicit encounters between the two.
Back in June, Arias told reporters that she’d prefer the death penalty to life in prison because “death is the ultimate freedom,” a sentiment she also expressed years ago while the entire case was still in its beginning stages. She later retracted the statement.
Later in July Arias was present for oral arguments where her attorneys asked for the entire verdict to be thrown out prompting the prosecution to weigh the pros and cons of setting up a new trial or reaching a bargain with the defense. That hearing was NOT live streamed and could be the case with today’s proceedings as well.
