Jodi Arias Sentencing: Travis Alexander Murderer Receives Life In Prison Following Seven Year Battle [VIDEO]
Jodi Arias will officially be spending the rest of her life in prison following a judge's sentencing on Monday in her drawn-out murder trial.
Jodi Arias To Officially Recieve Life Sentence
Maricopa County Judge Sherry Stephens opted to have Arias spend the rest of her natural life in prison over giving Arias a remote chance of freedom by sentencing her to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years, after three separate juries failed to decide her fate. The decision was also made after Arias made one last emotional plea.
"It's my firm belief that death would bring me untold peace and freedom. If I die today, I would be free and I would be at peace," Arias said, "I realize how selfish it would be if I escaped."
Jodi Arias Judge Refuses To Dismiss Death Penalty
"To this day I cannot believe I was capable of doing something that terrible," she continued "I'm truly disgusted and I'm repulsed with myself. I wish there was some way I could take it back."
The case has drawn attention nationwide following her initial trial's livestream online, and the surfacing of detailed and graphic photos of Arias and the victim, her 30-year-old boyfriend, Travis Alexander. The images included both Arias and Alexander naked in bed, followed by an image of Alexander in the shower, where he was found dead in 2008 with a gunshot wound to his head, his throat slit, and nearly 30 other stab wounds.
Though Arias was convicted of Alexander's murder in 2013, the original jury failed to unanimously decide if she should face life or death, with another jury in October 2014 also facing a deadlock with one holdout against Arias being sentenced to the death penalty. Under Arizona state law, Arias can now no longer be tried again, and can no longer face the death penalty.
Her fate was then placed in the judge's hands, with the ultimate decision being whether or not she could one day petition for release after serving 25 years of her life sentence. Arias could not apply for parole, which no longer exists in Arizona law, meaning if the option was provided to her, she could either apply for clemency or reprieve.
