Jodi Arias Trial Live Stream Recap: Death Penalty Weighed In Jury Deliberations, 'Death Relieved Travis Alexander's Pain,' Said Prosecutor
The jury began deliberating Jodi Arias' death penalty on Wednesday after prosecutor Juan Martinez provided evidence that her crime was committed in a cruel manner.
"Cruel manner" is when a victim suffered physical and or mental pain, according to Arizona law. Martinez also tried to prove that Arias knew Alexander would suffer.
According to the autopsy report, Arias stabbed her victim almost 30 times, slit his throat from ear to ear and shot him in the forehead. The report showed that some of Alexander's stab wounds were cuts on his hands which were caused by him trying to prevent Arias from stabbing him repeatedly.
Martinez said on May 15 in the Maricopa County courtroom that Arias was "especially cruel" when she committed the horrific crime.
"The last thing he saw before he lapsed into unconsciousness ... was that blade coming to his throat," Martinez said, according to ABC News. "And the last thing he felt before he left this earth was pain."
Martinez revisited exactly how the gruesome murder was committed step-by-step in detail by displaying images of Alexander's dead body, according to HLNTV. During this time Arias sobbed repeatedly and turned her head away.
"He goes toward the sink....When he gets of to the sink he is already hurting," Martinez said. "He has blood coming from his hands and his chest. As he stands and looks in the mirror he can see himself bleeding...As he endured that horrific punishment. He decided to flee," Martinez added. "It was only death that relieved that pain."
Martinez called in medical examiner Dr. Kevin Horn who testified that Alexander was alive for every single stab wound he suffered. Dr.Horn said if Arias shot Alexander in the head first, Alexander would have lost consciousness within seconds so he did feel the pain from the stab wounds.
Arias' attorney Kirk Nurmi stated a closing argument and Martinez gave his rebuttal argument afterward.
If the jury decides that Arias is guilty for committing the crime in a cruel manner, Arias and her defense team, family members and or friends will plead for leniency and ask that she not die by lethal injection. If this happens, the jury will have to make a decision for the third time - if she should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Wednesday's court session was the first since Arias was found guilty of first degree murder on May 8 for the 2008 killing of Alexander.