LIFE ANF DEATH

Jodi awaits new jury to determine her safe

PHOENIX — A new jury could be impaneled to decide if Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death or life in prison sometime in late September, a judge said yesterday, as attorneys continue to file motions and keep mum on any talk of a deal to resolve the case without another trial.

Arias (right, in prison) was convicted of firstdegree murder May 8 in the stabbing and shooting death of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in his suburban Phoenix home. About two weeks later, the same jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on her sentence.

Her case is now in limbo as prosecutors decide whether to put on another penaltyphase trial with a new jury in pursuit of the death penalty — or simply take the death penalty off the table, a move that would either see Arias spend the rest of her life behind bars or be eligible for release after 25 years. That decision would be up to the judge.

Meanwhile, her attorneys are seeking to have set aside the jury’s determination that Arias killed her onetime lover in an “especially cruel” manner. That finding meant that Arias was eligible for the death penalty.

They argue that the definition of “especially cruel” is too vague for jurors with no legal experience to determine what makes one killing more cruel or heinous than another.

Judge Sherry Stephens gave the defense attorneys until Aug. 5 to file final motions supporting their arguments. She set another status conference in the case for Aug. 26.

“It appears there are a number of issues that are unresolved, so I am reluctant to set a firm trial date for the penaltyphase retrial at this time,” Stephens told attorneys yesterday.

However, she noted she would like to set a retrial date for late September.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has said the state is still preparing to seek the death penalty.

Yesterday’s hearing lasted less than an hour. Arias was escorted into the courtroom, wearing shackles and dressed in striped jail clothes.