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PHOENIX (AP) — Convicted murderer Jodi Arias has been spared the death penalty after jurors deadlocked on whether she should be executed or sent to prison for life for killing her lover in 2008.
The decision in a Phoenix courtroom Thursday means the judge will sentence Arias on April 13 to either life in prison or a life term with the possibility of release after 25 years.
Family members of victim Travis Alexander wept when the judge announced that jurors couldn't reach a decision after deliberating for about 26 hours over five days.
Arias' 2013 trial became a sensation with its tawdry revelations about her relationship with Alexander and that she shot him in the head and slit his throat so deeply that he was nearly decapitated.
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