The Jodi Arias case involving the brutal killing of her boyfriend in 2008 has captivated the media thanks in part to the very graphic details brought up in the trial including the way in which she brutally stabbed and nearly decapitated her boyfriend, and their many sexual escapades which were often graphic and gory. Arias was convicted of murdering her boyfriend nearly 5 years after she had actually done so. She was convicted of 1st degree murder and now faces the death penalty. This has brought up numerous arguments for and against the death penalty in the United States.
Graphic Details of Case
The primary reason this case received so much media attention, and the attention of the Seattle immigration court is because of the extreme brutal nature in which she stalked and murdered her boyfriend. According to testimony, court documents and evidence, Arias stabbed her boyfriend 29 times in the span of two minutes. She stabbed him in the heart once, then chased him down and slit his neck open after he escaped. After he was bleeding out she took a large knife and cut his neck from ear to ear and then took a gun and shot him in the face.
Arias has claimed the killings were in self-defense and that her boyfriend was the one attacking her. The jury didn’t buy her story, which is why she was convicted of 1st degree murder. An immigration attorney Tacoma has stated Arias may be eligible for the death penalty because Arizona, the state in which the brutal killings took place, allows for the death penalty in these types of murders.
Life Sentence vs. Death Penalty
This case has once again reignited a national firestorm surrounding the law regarding the death penalty and if the law is morally or ethically wrong. In order for the death penalty to be imposed in the Arias case, jurors had to answer the question “Was Arias exceptionally cruel during the slaying and killing of her boyfriend?” Jurors answered that question with a resounding “Yes” as evidenced by the 29 times her boyfriend was brutally stabbed, the way his throat was slit and how his head was almost totally decapitated.
Now that the case has been decided with a guilty verdict, the next phase of the trial will be the sentencing phase. This will be when Arias learns about her fate – either life in prison or the death penalty. Most legal experts and attorneys have stated Arias will likely receive the death penalty unless her legal team can pull off some type of miracle when it comes to convincing the judge.
In a surprising twist, Arias stated just minutes after learning of the verdict that life in prison would be the worst possible outcome for her. She stated she would rather be executed than spend the rest of her life in prison. She went on to say that “Death is the ultimate freedom, and I want my freedom as soon as I can get it.”