Reuters: Most Read Articles: Jodi Arias jury due to resume death penalty deliberations in Arizona

Reuters: Most Read Articles Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Jodi Arias jury due to resume death penalty deliberations in Arizona May 22nd 2013, 11:02 1 of 2. Jodi Arias addresses the jury during the penalty phase of her murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Arizona May 21, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic/Pool By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX | Wed May 22, 2013 7:02am EDT PHOENIX (Reuters) - A jury weighing the fate of murderer Jodi Arias is set to resume deliberations on Wednesday on whether she should be sentenced to death or spend her life in prison for the brutal slaying of her ex-boyfriend. Arias, 32, was found guilty earlier this month in the murder of Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He had been stabbed 27 times, had his throat slashed and been shot in the face. The murder trial, which featured graphic testimony and photographs, became a sensation on U.S. cable television with its story of an attractive, intelligent and soft-spoken young woman charged with an unthinkable crime. In an at-times tearful appeal on Tuesday, Arias pleaded with jurors to spare her the death penalty for the sake of her family and sentence her instead to life in prison. The former waitress from California had previously said publicly that she preferred execution to life in prison, but reversed herself in a final act in a marathon court drama that began in January, citing concern for her family. "As I stand here now, I can't in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death because of them," she said, gesturing to her father and other family members in court. "I made many public statements that I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison. Each time I said that, though I meant it, I lost perspective. Until very recently I could not have imagined standing before you all and asking you to give me life ... I thought I would rather die," she said. In a jail house interview with the Arizona Republic newspaper late on Tuesday, Arias said she was not going to "think too much" about the looming verdict, but would just "take what's coming to me." Should the jury give her a death sentence, she said she would wait for the mandatory appeals process "just taking it day by day." If she gets life in prison, she would "make the most of it" and do what do she can do "to help other people there." CLAIM OF SELF-DEFENSE During her trial, Arias admitted killing Alexander but said she had acted in self-defense after he attacked her. She also characterized her relationship with Alexander as physically and emotionally abusive. "To this day, I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence, but I know that I was, and for that I'm going to be sorry for the rest of my life ... I was horrified by what I had done, and I am horrified still," Arias said. During Tuesday's court appearance, she told jurors she could lead a productive life in prison, and mentioned that while behind bars she had already donated her long hair to a charity that provides wigs to children, including cancer patients, suffering from hair loss. In closing arguments, defense attorney Jennifer Willmott walked jurors through eight mitigating factors - among them that Arias had suffered abuse, had no criminal history and was 27 at the time of the murder - and urged them to show mercy. "Jodi took Travis away ... but two wrongs do not make a right. Jodi can still contribute to this world," Willmott told jurors, as Arias sat calmly by her side. Prosecutor Juan Martinez countered that there were no documented reports to corroborate Arias' claims of abuse and urged the jury to return a death sentence. (Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions