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Jodi Arias’ sentencing retrial begins today in Phoenix.
This new jury will decide if she’ll get the death penalty, or life in prison.
Today there’s a hearing about evidence and then tomorrow, opening statements are expected.
The five-month-long murder trial in Phoenix ended after more than 15 hours of deliberations. In May 2013, the jury found Arias guilty of first-degree murder, although they deadlocked on whether to send her to death row.
If claims of abuse couldn’t help Arias in the guilt phase of her trial, her gender could be a major factor in the retrial of the penalty phase, in which a newly impaneled jury will consider whether she should face execution.
“Conventional wisdom says it is harder for a jury to sentence a woman to death,” said retired Maricopa County, Arizona, Judge Donna Leone Hamm. “There is a softer quality to a woman, even one who commits a crime like this. They are not the stereotypical killer people imagine, and they present a more attractive package in court.”
Three possible fates now await Arias — death row, life in prison or life with eligibility for release after 25 years. While the prosecution is again pushing for the death penalty, it is an unlikely outcome, according to experts The Huffington Post spoke with this week.
Agencies/Canadajournal
