Jodi Arias, the same woman who once bragged that a jury would never convict her of murder and said she preferred the death penalty to serving a life sentence, found herself begging jurors to spare her life in an Arizona courtroom Tuesday.
A 32-year-old waitress and aspiring photographer from California, Arias was found guilty May 8 in the grisly premeditated first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend, 30-year-old Travis Alexander, in June 2008. Arias confessed to killing her former lover, so her guilt wasn't up for debate - but her intent was. Arias' defense revolved around on the beliefs that she could not premeditate murder, or fully comprehend or take responsibility for her actions because Alexander abused her so intensely that it fractured her psyche, and Arias was forced to kill Alexander in self-defense because she feared for her life due to his alleged habitual physical and emotional abuse.
Following her conviction, and declaration minutes later that she preferred the "ultimate freedom" of the death penalty to serving life in prison, Arias' attorneys seemingly gave up trying to mount a defense. Arias' lawyers asked Judge Sherry Stephens twice for a mistrial and for the ability to withdraw as her counsel, and twice they were denied. During the aggravation phase of the trial, the defense presented no witnesses and only provided opening and closing arguments. And with the defense's decision to call no final witnesses, Arias' fate now rests on little more than the emotional plea for leniency she made in court Tuesday.
Dressed in all black, Arias attempted to humanize herself to the jury, presenting pictures of her childhood, her family, and friends. Intermittently choking up, Arias insisted that she felt remorse for her actions that fateful day almost five years ago, but, for whatever reason, stopped short of apologizing to Alexander's family in the court room.
"I loved Travis and I looked up to him. At one point he meant the world to me," Arias told jurors. "To this day I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence."
Arias cited her statement asking for the death penalty as she asked the jury to rule in favor of a life sentence.
"I've made many statements I would prefer the death penalty over life in prison ... To me, life in prison was the most unappealing outcome ... but as I stand here now, I can't in good conscious ask you to give me death," Arias said.
Arias said she knew that killing Alexander was the "worst" thing she had ever done. However, she maintained her portrait of the victim and the gruesome attack. She insisted to the jury that, whether anyone believed it or not, she was in fact a victim of domestic abuse.
During the 19 weeks of testimony, the defense was unable to produce a single piece of evidence to corroborate its claim that Alexander physically abused Arias. As the state's attorney noted repeatedly, no police reports or any other documents support Arias' portrayal of the couple's supposedly violent relationship.
The same 12 jurors that convicted Arias of premeditated first-degree murder determined she was eligible for the death penalty during the "aggravation phase" of the trial last week. Arizona is one of a few states where jurors are first tasked with judging whether someone is eligible for the death penalty. After just three hours of deliberation, the jury decided Arias killed Alexander in a "cruel, heinous, or depraved" manner that would warrant the death penalty. Arizona law defines "cruel manner" as when a victim suffers physical and/or mental pain.
Medical examiners found that Arias stabbed Alexander 27 times, primarily in the back, as well as the torso and the heart, slit Alexander's throat from ear to ear with so much force it almost decapitated him, shot him in the face, and dragged his bloodied corpse to the shower where she left him crumpled over - all in 106 seconds.
Arias tried to show jurors she understood the hurt she had "inadvertently" inflicted on Alexander's loved ones, but the majority of her plea for leniency emphasized her potential value to society in the future. Arias said that if the jury chose to give her life in prison she would focus her time on helping others. Arias outlined ambitious plans to spend her sentence teaching other inmates Spanish and American Sign Language, starting literacy programs, giving away her hair to cancer charity Locks of Love, and implementing recycling programs, as just a few examples of how she could have a "far-reaching positive impact on the planet" despite being in prison for life.
After Arias finished, defense attorney Jennifer Willmott asked jurors to save Arias from death.
"Jodi took Travis away. She took him away from his family and she took him away from this world, but two wrongs do not make a right ... You have a choice ... We are asking you to find that Jodi's life is worth saving," Willmott said.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez closed the day by continuing to hammer the hard facts of the case to put things in perspective.
"Mr. Alexander was only 30 and will forever be 30," Martinez said. "Mr. Alexander is no longer going to have any more yesterdays ... You have a duty ... the difficult thing under these circumstances -- the only thing you can do -- is return a verdict of death," Martinez urged.
Following closing arguments, Judge Stephens told the jury they should consider mitigating factors while determining her sentence.
Mitigating factors include: Arias' age; Arias' capacity to comprehend the inherent "wrongfulness" of her actions or ability to act within the confines of the law was "significantly impaired; Arias could not possibly have "reasonably" understood ahead of time that her behavior during the act of killing Alexander "would cause, or would create a grave risk of causing, death to another person; While Arias was "legally accountable" for the deeds of another, her involvement was "relatively minor; Arias was suffering "unusual and substantial duress; Arias' alleged rough childhood/family background, and history of domestic abuse as a young girl, and at the hands of Alexander.
If jurors decide that Arias deserves the death penalty, she will become the fourth woman on Arizona's death row, and the first to be executed in the state since a woman was hanged in 1930. A unanimous vote is required to reach the death penalty. Were the jury to deadlock Judge Sherry Stephens will dismiss jurors and the trial will enter jury selection all over again for sentencing. If jurors vote in favor of a life sentence, Judge Stephens would then have two options. Either sentence Arias to life in prison with no possibility of parole, or sentence her to life in prison with parole possible after at least 25 years behind bars.
The jury will resume deliberations Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST.
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