Live blog: Will we hear from Alexander’s family?By Graham Winch
updated 1:36 PM EDT, Thu May 16, 2013
It has come to this: The final stage of the Jodi Arias trial begins Thursday, and Arias' life is on the line.
Arias was found guilty Wednesday of killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in a "cruel manner," and now the trial moves on to the penalty phase, during which the jurors will have to decide if she lives or dies via lethal injection.
This could be the most emotional stage of the trial, because Alexander's family is expected to make victim impact statements Thursday, detailing the tragedy of having a beloved family member who's brutally murdered.
During this stage of the trial, Arias may also make a statement begging for her life to be spared.
This penalty phase will proceed similarly to Wednesday's aggravation phase. It will be like a miniature trial, with some slight differences.
For example, the defense will go first in this phase when it comes to opening statements, and the defense -- rather than the prosecution -- will also get the last word with a rebuttal closing argument.
The burden also shifts to the defense, who must prove by a preponderance of the evidence -- meaning it’s more likely than not -- that there is at least one sufficiently substantial mitigating factor that calls for leniency.
The statutory mitigating factors in Arizona include the following:
- Arias’ capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct or to conform her conduct to the requirements of law was significantly impaired, but not so impaired as to constitute a defense to prosecution;
- Arias was under unusual and substantial duress, although not such as to constitute a defense to prosecution;
- Arias was legally accountable for the conduct of another, but her participation was relatively minor, although not so minor as to constitute a defense to prosecution;
- Arias could not reasonably have foreseen that her conduct in the course of the commission of the offense for which Arias was convicted would cause, or would create a grave risk of causing, death to another person; or
- Arias’ age
After closing arguments of the sentencing phase, the jury then deliberates for a third time to determine whether Arias should be sentenced to life or death. Their decision must be unanimous. In the case of a deadlock, a mistrial would be granted and a new jury would be chosen for this phase only.
Deciding whether a defendant will live or die can obviously be a difficult decision for jurors to make.
During jury selection, all potential jurors were asked whether they could put someone to death if the law and evidence warranted it. The potential jurors who said they could not morally sentence someone to death were removed from the panel. This happens in all death penalty cases.
...more at link(Live Blog)http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/05/16 ... th-penalty
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