Coming to cable news this fall: Jodi Arias, who was convicted last year of murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, will represent herself in a sentencing retrial that will determine if she gets the death penalty. The original jury deadlocked on whether Arias should be sentenced to death, and Arizona law allows for a sentencing-phase retrial with a new jury. Arias is not a lawyer and the judge urged her to reconsider, saying, “I do not believe it is in your best interest.” However, legal experts say the move isn’t as crazy as it sounds. San Francisco–area defense attorney Daniel Horowitz told the Associated Press that Arias’s claim that she acted in self-defense sounds “ridiculous,” but if she represents herself the new jurors “may find her pathetic.” “If she can get just one juror to bond with her on some level, even if they hate her, they’re getting to know her, and it’s harder to kill someone you know,” he said. There is one bit of bad news for Nancy Grace & Co.: While the initial trial was streamed online, the sentencing retrial will not be broadcast live.
