After declaring on Twitter that she was filing for bankruptcy earlier this month, convicted killer Jodi Arias may be using her new painting to try to work her way out of debt.
Arias has announced on her website jodiarias.com that she will be releasing 100 "limited edition" prints of her latest jailhouse painting, "Sailing at Sunset." The romantically themed drawing is priced at $1,500 with the limited prints available for $39 each. It's the most recent of the 33-year-old's work, which includes other landscapes and portraits of Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra.
Although Arizona's "Son of Sam Law" prevents criminals from profiting through book and movie deals, her supporters are not restricted from sending donations to her commissary fund.
"She's able to have access to paper and purchase color pencils, and if she wants to release her property to someone outside, she can," said Chris Hegstrom, spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that oversees Arias's incarceration, reports ABC News.
The California native was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8 in the ghastly 2008 death of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix, Ariz. home. However, the same jury that found her guilty failed to reach a unanimous decision on her sentencing. As a result, a retrial will be held later this year to determine whether she should be sentenced to death, life in prison or life with a chance of release after serving 25 years.
For now she remains in a women's prison in Maricopa County, Ariz., where she is forbidden from accessing cell phones or computers. However, she still managed to Tweet and sell artwork online anyway.
Back in January, shortly after Arias' murder trial began, her artwork appeared on eBay listed at prices of $300 to $400. At that time, descriptions listed with the art noted that the profits would go to costs associated with the trial, including paying for Arias' family to travel from their homes in California to Arizona for the five-month trial.
"She's not physically running a business from our jail," Hegstrom said. "I can't stop her from talking on the phone or releasing property."
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