Lawyers at center of Jodi Arias retrial keep lid on emotions after second mistrial
Mar 5, 2015, 1:08 PM | Updated: 1:08 pm
PHOENIX — The lawyers who worked both sides of the Jodi Arias resentencing trial shared muted responses to a second mistrial declared Thursday.
The jury deadlocked with an 11-1 vote for death.
Arias will now spend at least 25 years in prison for the 2008 murder of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. She was convicted in 2013.
A hung jury was not an inconceivable conclusion. As late as Wednesday the group of eight women and four men were at an impasse.
Judge Sherry Stephens appealed to the jurors Tuesday to reach agreement, then instructed them on modified impasse.
Lead Arias attorney Kurt Nurmi said, “I don’t think today’s victory will repair any sadness or change anything but we hope it can begin the closure process for all those affected by that tragedy.”
Nurmi’s brief statement in front of Maricopa County Superior Court was all that he would say about the morning’s proceedings.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez said, “You always think how it affects the family, in this case, Travis Alexander’s, so my thoughts are with them.”
Martinez and the Alexander family spoke shortly after Judge Sherry Stephens addressed the court. He planned to keep the exchange private.
The two lawyers crossed swords in the murder trial.
Despite the frustration of a hung jury, Marciopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said, “… I will not fault the jury and I will not lay any blame or criticize their work in the case.”
Martinez said, “… Sometimes the outcome is what you hope, other times it’s what the system provides, so you accept it and move on.”
The jury at the murder trial convicted Arias but could not reach a decision on the penalty — death or life in prison.
Arias’ next court appearance was scheduled for April 13 at 8:30 a.m.
