Jodi Arias could get the death penalty when she is sentenced for murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. An Arizona judge has once again turned down Arias’s bid to be spared the death penalty during her sentencing retrial. Judge Sherry Stephens dismissed claims made by attorneys who believed the case was compromised when a member of Arias’ defense team was temporarily barred from visiting Maricopa County jails.
“The defendant has failed to establish she suffered any prejudice as a result of the incident involving the mitigation specialist,” Stephens said in a written ruling on Friday.
Jodi Arias was convicted last year of the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in his Phoenix-area home in what authorities have described as an especially brutal murder. Alexander was found dead in his shower. He had been stabbed multiple times and his throat was slashed. He had also been shot in the face. The jury that convicted Arias of murder also found her eligible for execution, but they couldn’t decide if she should actually be sentenced to death. This is what prompted a penalty phase mistrial.
On September 8th a new jury will be chosen and will be given the task of determining whether or not Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death. Now that the death penalty is a very real possibility she is no doubt shaking in her shoes. If, however, this new jury is deadlocked as well it is quite likely that the judge will sentence Arias to either life in prison or life with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years.
The latter of those two options sounds rather lenient seeing how Travis Alexander died–don’t you think? Even if one is dead set against the death penalty, most people will likely agree that Jodi Arias should never again see the light of day–or be given the opportunity to harm another person again.
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