Judge Sherry Stephens declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury on Wednesday after they failed to reach a unanimous decision in the penalty phase of Jodi Arias’s murder trial.
In a case that captured headlines worldwide, Arias was recently convicted, by the same jury, of the first degree murder of her former boyfriend Travis Alexander.
A new panel of jurors will be chosen to reach a decision on Arias’s penalty if the prosecutor does not agree to a life sentence and take the death penalty off the table, according to the Washington Post. A retrial has been scheduled for July 18.
If the second panel cannot unanimously agree on a penalty, Judge Stephens will decide whether to put Arias in prison for a life term or make her eligible for parole in 25 years, according to the Huffington Post. She does not have the power to sentence Arias to death.
Arias, who first stated that she would prefer the death penalty and later pleaded for her life, appeared upset with the jury’s lack of a decision.
The jury began deliberating Arias’s penalty on Tuesday and first told Judge Stephens they failed to reach a unanimous decision on Wednesday, according to NY Daily News. She instructed them to keep trying, but on Thursday they remained undecided.