Jodi Arias Judge Declares Mistrial

Jurors had deliberated for 5 days
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 5, 2015 11:20 AM CST
Jodi Arias Judge Declares Mistrial
Jodi Arias, right, sits with her defense attorney Jennifer Willmott.   (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Mark Henle, Pool, File)

An Arizona jury has again deadlocked on the fate of Jodi Arias in the gruesome 2008 murder of her one-time boyfriend, and the judge relented and declared a mistrial this morning. As per the AP, the decision removes capital punishment as an option and gives the judge a choice between life in prison and life with the possibility of release after 25 years. Arias was convicted of murder in 2013 after a lengthy trial that became a sensation with its tawdry revelations about her relationship with victim Travis Alexander. That jury deadlocked on her punishment, prompting the sentencing retrial that began in October. Jurors deliberated for five days. Immediately after her conviction Arias said she wanted the death penalty; then she changed her mind. (More Jodi Arias stories.)

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