Jodi Arias will have to wait a little bit longer to find out if she will be executed for the murder of Travis Alexander. The jury was unable to come to a decision in the penalty phase of the trial and Judge Sherry Stephens was forced to declare a mistrial, according to the Associated Press.
The jury, which was the same jury that had found Arias guilty of murder, deliberated for three days to no avail. They announced that they were unable to come to a decision on Wednesday, but Stephens sent them back to deliberate some more in the hopes that they could break the deadlock.
According to the Associated Press, as Stephens announced the mistrial she told the jury, "This was not your typical trial. You were asked to perform some very difficult duties."
A source with knowledge of the jury told CNN that the jury was deadlocked 8-4 in favor of sending Arias to death row.
A retrial of the penalty phase will begin with a new jury on July 18. In many states the death penalty would be no longer applicable once a mistrial is declared in the penalty phase; this is not the case in Arizona, according to CNN.
"It's a very unusual circumstance, but it is part of Arizona statute that yes, if you get to this third phase, the penalty phase, and there is a hung jury, it mean's another jury come in," CNN's Ashleigh Banfield said.
If a retrial of the penalty phase ends with a mistrial Arias will be sentenced to life by the judge. It is possible that Arias could receive life with the possibility of parole in 25 years in this case, according to CBS News.
As the jury announced that they could not make a decision, the family of the victim, Travis Alexander, burst into tears. As the jury left the courtroom at least one member was seen mouthing the words "I'm sorry" to the Alexander family, according to the Associated Press.
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