Boyfriend killer spared death sentence

PHOENIX – It took just one juror to spare the life of convicted murderer Jodi Arias on Thursday – and the woman had to survive an attempt by her colleagues to boot her from the jury before she could do it.

In the end, the jury voted 11-1 in favor of death – not enough to send Arias to death row in the case that became a global sensation with its tawdry revelations about her sexual relationship with the victim and that she had slit his throat so deeply that he was nearly decapitated.

The deadlock took the death penalty off the table and left a judge to decide whether to sentence Arias to life in prison or to life with the possibility of release after 25 years. That decision is expected at an April 13 hearing.

Arias was convicted in 2013 of killing her lover, Travis Alexander, but that jury also deadlocked on her punishment, prompting the sentencing retrial that began in October.

The holdout juror did not speak to the media Thursday. But other jurors said they thought Arias lacked remorse and that her attorneys had presented an inaccurate portrait of Alexander.

Most of the jurors said they believed the holdout was biased and opposed to giving the death penalty. The other jurors asked the judge Tuesday if the woman could be replaced with an alternate, but the request was denied and the jury was told to keep deliberating.

One male juror said Thursday he became angry when the holdout indicated the death penalty would be a form of revenge. Jurors also note that the woman had acknowledged seeing a cable TV movie about the Arias case.

Jurors apologized to the Alexander family for the deadlock and said they felt Arias was trying to manipulate the jury.

None of the jurors would give their names. The identities of jurors are kept secret in Arizona.

The jury deliberated for about 26 hours over five days. They said they started with about half of the members voting for the death penalty, eventually reached the 11-1 vote, then got stuck.

They described having knots in their stomachs and problems sleeping at night during the trial.

Prosecutors say Arias killed Alexander as revenge because he wanted to date other women and was planning a trip to Mexico with his latest love interest.

Authorities said Arias shot him in the head and stabbed and slashed him nearly 30 times, then left his body in his shower at his suburban Phoenix home, where friends found him about five days later.

Arias will begin serving her sentence in a 12-foot-by-7-foot cell in a maximum-security unit at the Perryville prison for women, west of downtown Phoenix.

If officials deem her behavior is good over time, she could be moved to a medium-security unit.

Nearly $3 million of taxpayer money was spent during both trials. Arias’ court-appointed attorneys billed the state for $2.7 million. Prosecutors say they spent more than $132,000 on expert witnesses, transcripts, travel expense and other costs, though that figure doesn’t include the salary of the prosecutor.