Arizona jury told to keep deliberating on Jodi Arias case

By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Jurors deciding whether convicted killer Jodi Arias should be executed in Arizona were told by a judge on Tuesday to try harder to reach a verdict after apparently deadlocking in the closely watched retrial, court officials said. Judge Sherry Stephens issued the eight women and four men with a "modified impasse instruction" as the jury deliberated for a fourth day on the fate of the former waitress from Salinas, California, who murdered her ex-boyfriend in 2008. The jurors had earlier told the Maricopa County Superior Court they had several questions that had come up in their discussions, the court officials said. Arias, 34, was found guilty of killing Travis Alexander, 30, at his Phoenix-area home following a 2013 trial that captured widespread attention with its lurid details and sexually explicit testimony. Alexander's body was found stabbed multiple times and slumped in a shower. He had also been shot in the face and his throat was slashed. Arias said she acted in self-defense but prosecutors accused her of carrying out the murder in a jealous rage. The jury at the original trial deadlocked on whether Arias should be executed for the crime, a mistrial was declared, and this new jury began hearing a penalty phase retrial in October. In closing statements, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi called for Arias' life to be spared and described her as a remorseful and mentally ill woman who has been abused since childhood. Prosecutor Juan Martinez accused Arias of acting in a cold and calculating way and said there are no factors preventing the jury from returning with a death penalty verdict. If these jurors cannot decide on Arias' fate, the judge will sentence her to life in prison, or to life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. (Editing by Daniel Wallis and Bill Trott)