The next phase of the Jodi Arias death is scheduled for Oct. 4 although now it looks as though that hearing will be postponed as Arias and her lawyers are set to meet with the prosecution on Oct. 24 for a settlement hearing. It is unclear what the agenda for the meeting will be, but the defense is likely going to do all they can in order to keep their client from being sentenced to death. On May 8, 2013 Jodi Arias was found guilty of murdering her on and off again boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
Arias claimed that she stabbed, shot and cut the throat of Alexander in self-defense because her one time boyfriend was abusing her. During the course of the investigation Arias told multiple lies about her whereabouts on the night Alexander was killed. She then said she was in the house when two masked intruders killed Alexander, but left her alive. The detectives and prosecution did not buy any of Arias' stories. Eventually Arias would admit to killing Travis Alexander in self-defense.
The jury did not believe any of Arias' stories either and found her guilty of first degree murder. The jury could not make a decision when it came to deciding if Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death. The trial jury was dismissed and a new jury was supposed to be sworn in to make the death penalty decision. A number of delays have come up and there has been no new jury. Settlement hearings are usually overseen by a different judge then the one who presided over the trial. If both sides of the table can agree on an outcome Arias may avoid a sentencing retrial.
If the prosecution agrees not to seek the death penalty, Arias is faced with two options. With the death penalty off the table Jodi Arias will either be sentenced to life in prison or life with the possibility of release after 25 years. When Arias was first convicted, she went before her local news station and announced to the nation that she would prefer to be sentenced to death. Arias said that to her, death meant freedom and that she would rather be free sooner than later.
When Arias went before the jury that was to decide if she lived or died she recanted her earlier statement and pleaded for life. Arias said that she still had a lot to offer the world and her death would just hurt her family more than she already had.
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