Jodi Arias, who was convicted in 2013 of murdering her ex-boyfriend, will avoid the death penalty after the jury in her sentencing could not agree on a verdict.
After more than 20 hours of deliberations, the jury was unable to come to a unanimous consensus Thursday morning about whether Arias should receive the death penalty or life in prison for the brutal murder of her ex-boyfriend in 2008. This means Arias’s sentencing will rest with the judge, who will decide if she receives life in prison or life with the possibility of early release.
Elizabeth Erwin, an ABC reporter in the courtroom, tweeted that multiple jurors cried with the family of the victim when the hung jury announcement was made:
Arias was convicted of murder in 2013 in a trial that became a media sensation for salacious details about her relationship with the victim and the gruesome manner in which he was killed. Arias was found guilty of killing her former boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2008 by stabbing him 27 times, slitting his throat and shooting him in the face while he showered. She said she acted in self-defense.
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