Jodi Arias Trial: Jury to reconvene next Wednesday to weigh fate of convicted killer
(CBS/AP) PHOENIX - Updated: 455 p.m. ET : The next phase of the Jodi Arias murder trial was postponed Thursday and will continue next Wednesday. Court officials didn't provide a reason for the delay.
TIMELINE: Jodi Arias murder casePICTURES: Jodi Arias murder trialPICTURES: Jodi Arias: Guilty of first-degree murder
Arias' fate is in the hands of the jury that convicted her of
first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2008 shooting and stabbing death of
her lover, Travis Alexander.
The jury is to weigh whether she killed Alexander in an especially cruel, heinous and depraved manner.
If jurors find the "aggravators" exist, the next step will be the penalty phase during which the panel will recommend either life in prison or death. The process could take several more weeks to wrap up.
Ron Kuby, a criminal defense attorney who is not connected to the case, told Crimesider the defense will need to change their strategy in this next phase of the trial.
"The defense is not going to do the same thing at the penalty phase as it did in the guilt or innocence phase," Kuby said. "It's time to acknowledge the jury's verdict and work on trying to save her life, assuming she wants her life to be saved, and that involves introducing every possible piece of mitigatiing evidence to show that she is not the worst of the worst."
In many cases, the defense will attempt to prove in the aggravation phase that circumstances like abuse or mistreatment shaped the defendant, said Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorney's Association.
It's the prosecution's job to negate that evidence, Burns said.
"Typically, the jury has heard all of the evidence, so the idea is not to retry the case," Burns told Crimesider.
Complete coverage of the Jodi Arias trial on Crimesider
