Posted on 08/05/2014 9:55:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The 34-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder last year in Travis Alexander's grisly 2008 slaying, but the Arizona jury deadlocked on whether she should get life behind bars or death.
Arias had admitted to slaying Alexander after a day of sex in his Phoenix home on June 4, 2008, but argued that it was in self-defense.
Her victim was stabbed nearly 30 times, had his throat slit and was shot in the forehead.
Prosecutors argued it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage when Alexander wanted to end their affair.
Arias will be assisted by her current attorneys, who will act in an advisory capacity.
Experts say the move might not be such a bad idea given the gruesome nature of the crime.
"It's actually probably a good idea to represent herself," said San Francisco-area defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. "She looks like a vicious psychopath with a ridiculous defense."
Arias had admitted to slaying Alexander after a day of sex in his Phoenix home on June 4, 2008, but argued that it was in self-defense.
Her victim was stabbed nearly 30 times, had his throat slit and was shot in the forehead.
Prosecutors argued it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage when Alexander wanted to end their affair.
Arias will be assisted by her current attorneys, who will act in an advisory capacity.
Experts say the move might not be such a bad idea given the gruesome nature of the crime.
"It's actually probably a good idea to represent herself," said San Francisco-area defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. "She looks like a vicious psychopath with a ridiculous defense."
However, Horowitz noted, the jury "may find her pathetic."
"If she can get just one juror to bond with her on some level, even if they hate her, they're getting to know her, and it's harder to kill someone you know," he said.
The five-month trial that began in January 2013 provided seemingly endless amounts of cable TV and tabloid fodder, including a recorded phone sex call between Arias and the victim, nude photos, bloody crime scene pictures and a defendant who described her life story in intimate detail over 18 days on the witness stand.
Arias told jurors of an abusive childhood, cheating boyfriends, dead-end jobs, her sexual relationship with Alexander and her contention that he had grown physically violent.
"They thought she was a liar. She was narcissistic. She was arrogant, and it made it easy to convict her," Horowitz said. "But that's a lot different than killing somebody."
Phoenix defense lawyer Mel McDonald, a former Maricopa County judge and federal prosecutor, agreed that Arias doesn't have much to lose.
"I think generally that anybody that represents themselves has a fool for a client, but it also gives her a way, if she's out there making a fool of herself, to maybe invoke some sympathy from a juror," McDonald said.
Arias' feud with her attorneys has been ongoing since early in the case and intensified after she gave a series of media interviews following her conviction in May 2013. Her lawyers have tried to withdraw several times, but the judge has rebuffed their requests.
If the new jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, the death penalty will be removed from consideration. The judge would then sentence Arias to spend her life behind bars or to be eligible for release after 25 years.
A client who represents themselves has a fool for a lawyer.
She’ll just appeal based on incompetent representation.
oh that’s right!
Yeah, worked out real good for Ted. He got himself a ride in old sparky.
Yeah, I almost fell out of my chair when I learned that this so called “professional” photographer tried to hide her camera in the washing machine with the memory card still in the camera. Defense showed no evidence of her “professionalism” as a photographer. Arias as a child must’ve been really bad at playing hide and seek.
Other than smudging her lipstick and perhaps some minor scrapes and bruises, I don’t recall her incurring any wounds. She surprised him in the shower while his back was to her, stabbed him multiple times (30) and then shot him in the head as he tried to crawl away. So outlandish and far-fetched were her defense claims,I thought at one point she would try to claim he committed suicide. Girl is a narcissistic pyschopath and deserves to go to the head of the gas chamber line.
Anybody here think those two could have had a long and successful marriage? As long as her jealousy would be kept in check, maybe?
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