Jodi Arias Verdict Jury Foreman Who Voted Against Death Penalty Speaks,Travis Alexander Relationship Was 'Toxic,' He Says
Bill Zervakos, the jury foreman in convicted murderer Jodi Arias' first-degree murder trial, has come forward and admitted that he was one of the hour jurors who voted against the death penalty.
Zervakos, who is also known as juror no. 18, revealed his vote after he received death threats because the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision which led to a mistrial on May 24.
Zervakos told AZ Family on Tuesday that there were three factors that led to him voting against Arias getting the death penalty. He described the decision as "simply the most difficult situation I've ever been in my life."
Zervakos said Arias' age, lack of criminal history, her background of growing up in a "dysfunctional family" led to his ruling. He said he also believed that Arias' relationship with her ex-lover, Travis Alexander, was "toxic" because he mentally and verbally abused Arias.
Despite Arias' claims of abuse, Zervakos agreed on one thing with the eight jurors that voted that Arias should die by lethal injection: Alexander "didn't deserve to die."
"Jodi has got to pay for it and she's going to," he said.
Zervakos addressed the death threats he has received again, saying "People who make stupid remarks are not worth wasting your time with," he said.
The foreman told Inside Edition on May 24 following the mistrial announcement that he believed Arias was "crucified in the court of public opinion."
"What she did was horrible, there's no question about it, but this is a human being. Our jury's prudence system is based on innocent until proven guilty," Zervakos said in the news report. "And this girl was crucified in the court of public opinion. We didn't know that of course until after the fact," he added.
Zervakos was the foreman for the jury that failed to reach a unanimous decision in the third phase of Arias' near six-month trial on May 24. The judge was forced to then declare a mistrial.
Arias was found guilty of murder in the first-degree murder on May 8. The jury reached a "cruel manner" verdict on May 15 in the second phase.
The new proceedings for a re-trial of the third phase - the sentencing phase - will begin July 18. If the proceedings rule in favor of no re-trial of the sentencing phase, then Arias will serve life in prison. If the penalty phase is re-tried and the new jury cannot reach an unanimous decision, then the final decision for the sentence options will be left up to the judge.
Watch Zervakos' interview on Inside Edition below.
