Jodi Arias has already been convicted in 2013 for the murder of her ex-lover, Travis Alexander. However, the penalty phase of her retrial could go on longer than the initial trial, where she was found guilty of first-degree murder.
According to Chris Williams of 12 News, the original trial lasted five months for Arias and was a media circus. This time around, Judge Sherry Stephens banned the media from broadcasting the trial live and releasing any other content except for still photographs on a daily basis.
"Neither of those changes has kept the penalty phase retrial from dragging on," Williams wrote. "This retrial is threatening to last longer than the original trial."
Williams reported that the penalty phase of the Arias retrial began in October 2014. He contended that the prosecution's efforts to fight the defense strategy have played a factor in keeping the trial going "at a snail's pace."
As for the latest developments, Troy Hayden of Fox 10 News reported that jurors heard some "very graphic" sexting messages that were sent between Arias and Alexander. Although Hayden restrained himself from sharing the details, he contended that the prosecution tried to show that Arias enjoyed her sex life with Alexander.
"Psychologist Janeen Demarte was on the stand and only questioned by the prosecutor," Hayden wrote. "She said police interviews showed that members of Jodi Arias' own family didn't especially like her very much."
According to Hayden, co-workers indicated that Arias acted inappropriately with colleagues, and another witness testified that Arias gave her phone number to a man on an airplane flight that took place after Alexander's memorial service.
"Then the graphic sex texts were read," Hayden wrote. "All of this meant to show Arias in a bad light, and contradict what the defense has said. That Jodi was passive and abused Travis Alexander."
Steve Stout of CBS 5 AZ reported that the prosecution did its best to convince jurors that Arias deserved the death penalty and not a life sentence for the first-degree murder conviction. Arias is fighting for her life, which is in the hands of the jury during her retrial.
"Tuesday's proceedings follow a day in which a Mormon bishop answered questions about the time murder victim Travis Alexander lived in the bishop's home, and whether Alexander accessed pornography on the bishop's computer," Stout wrote.
Stout added that the current jury weighing Arias's fate was selected from more than 400 jurors over several weeks. They were shown graphic photos of the crime scene and listened to interrogation tapes involving Arias; one juror was dismissed after asking a journalist in the courtroom whether or not she was legendary TV journalist Nancy Grace.
According to Stout, Arias eventually admitted that she killed Alexander in self-defense, a claim that jurors refused to believe. The initial jury that convicted her of first-degree murder was unable to reach a verdict in her sentencing back in 2013, hence the retrial now.
