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JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Jodi Arias Jury Sent Back to Deliberate Longer

Aired May 22, 2013 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live from outside the Maricopa County Courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona.

A tense, anxious waiting game. Check out all these court observers, just standing around as the jury deciding whether or not Jodi Arias lives or dies by lethal injection, deliberates about six hours and 40 minutes now over the course of two days.

Here`s the waiting game. The media waiting around. We`re all changing and exchanging theories.

But I`ve got to tell you, about four hours ago, that noon hour time here in Phoenix, a stunner. A shocker. A head spinner, a jaw dropper, whatever you want to call it. We were all stunned when the jury of eight men and four women go back to the judge and say, "Hey, judge, we can`t decide."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely stunning news.

JUDGE SHERRY STEPHENS, PRESIDING OVER TRIAL: I have received your note indicating that you are unable to come to a unanimous decision.

BETH KARAS, HLN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: It`s very soon for a jury to come back and say they are split.

STEPHENS: No juror should surrender his or her honest conviction.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s just jaw-dropping information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely torturous for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a monumental development. This jury telling the judge, "We cannot come to a unanimous decision."

NANCY GRACE, HLN ANCHOR (via phone): Send them back, back into the jury deliberation room and say, "Do your job. Get to work."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. The judge sent those jurors back and said deliberate some more.

But Travis Alexander, the victim`s, sister started sobbing. Samantha and Tanisha, their lives -- I mean, they`ve been living out of a suitcase for months on end, their lives shattered and put on hold. No closure. This is the last thing they wanted to hear.

Meanwhile, Jodi Arias, on the other hand, cool as a cumber, chatting up the bailiff, seeming to be in a very good mood.

Now, checking all this out, Jean Casarez, HLN legal correspondent, you were there. What -- honestly, I checked my BlackBerry twice. I couldn`t believe it. I was like, what? Because they`d only deliberated a couple of hours at that point when they came back with that decision. What was it like in the courtroom?

JEAN CASAREZ, HLN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: It was shocking. It was out of the blue. I mean, when everyone started filling the seats and the attorneys were in, I thought, well, they must be just saying that they`re going to take a break or lunch hour.

The jury knows they have to be unanimous. The jury also knows that they are determining the sentence. Here in Arizona, it`s not a recommendation. It is not something the judge then ultimately determines. It is this jury. And they felt inclined to send a note saying, "We can`t reach a decision." I think it was shocking. And the emotion was very apparent on the faces of Travis Alexander`s family.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Meanwhile, the other shocker, starting last night, Jodi Arias is giving interview after interview after interview after interview, and we`re going to talk to a woman who interviewed Jodi Arias in just a second.

But first, let`s listen to the woman who now is being called by some the most hated woman in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY MURPHY, ABC-15: You must know all of America sits in judgment of Jodi Arias right now. You really have been deemed the most hated woman in America. How does that make you feel?

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF MURDER: I didn`t know that. Actually, I feel a lot of love and support from people who write in and believe me and want to help me and want to be there for me. And I received an outpouring of love and support from other people. So, all of that, it doesn`t reach me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That from ABC15.com (ph). We`re going to talk to the reporter in a moment. But first, let`s debate it.

Now listen, if they come back again and again and again, and they say, "Hey, we can`t reach a decision," they`re going to have to find a new jury for this case, for the penalty phase. That`s the law here in Arizona. Can they find a new 12? Starting with Stacey Honowitz for the prosecution.

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA PROSECUTOR: Listen, Jane, the judge read an Allen chart. She sent them back and said, "You`ve got to try and express your views."

Now, as far as finding a panel, you have to remember that they`re going to ask questions and want to know if you`ve seen all the coverage. But even if you`ve seen all the coverage, all the interviews, all the television stuff, can you stay fair and impartial? And believe it or not, we`ve had very high-profile cases where they`ve been able to find a jury.

I don`t think that if they -- I don`t think Juan Martinez is going to say, "Hey, listen, I`m just going to throw in the towel now." They`re going to look for a new jury, and they`re just going to have to find people that maybe have seen the coverage but realize that they can render a fair verdict.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen, Dana Swickle, this sounds crazy to me, the idea that we`ve had 60-plus days of this trial and now, just in the penalty phase, not to revisit the whole trial, but just in the penalty phase, they`re going to go, if they can`t ultimately agree, this jury, and find 12 people who haven`t heard about Jodi Arias? Twelve people who were living under a rock for the last four months? I don`t -- I don`t see how they would ever do that.

DANA SWICKLE, ATTORNEY: I think you`re so right, Jane. I think it`s going to be impossible. And even if they do find 12 new jurors who say that they can be impartial, who say that they can come to a decision, who say that they`ve seen it but they can be impartial, I can tell you right now: it`s an appeal waiting to happen.

That`s why the judge sent everyone back with the Allen charge. That`s why the judge said, "Please, go back, do whatever you can." Because you know what? At the end of the day, when these 12 new people come in, if they do, they`re not the same 12 people that sat there for all those days and listened to everything.

It`s going to be an impossibility, and it`s going to be an amazing appeal for Jodi Arias. If she should get death with the 12 new jurors, it will be a fabulous appeal for her. And I think the death penalty decision would be overturned in the future.

FRED TECCE, ATTORNEY: No way. No way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Fred Tecce for the prosecution, briefly.

TECCE: Look, I`m going to tell you right now, not to undermine our own self-importance, but I guarantee you, you can find 12 people who know absolutely nothing about this case. Half the people I talk to don`t know who this woman is. We`re all fascinated by her. And after I saw her on TV last night, doing these interviews, I don`t care if I have to empanel 10 jurors. I`d keep going if I was Juan Martinez.

And I disagree. You swear those jurors, they take an oath, they`re instructed on the law, there`s no appeal issues. Over, done.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that is why everyone was saying the jury has spoken.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Six hours and 48 minutes the jury has been deliberating now. And again, ABC-15, sent a reporter to interview Jodi Arias. Let`s hear from one of her more bizarre comments, and then we`re going to talk to the reporter herself on the other side. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURPHY: Samantha Alexander says they will never get those images of their brother`s neck slit out of our minds. How have you gotten it out of your mind?

ARIAS: It`s not out of my mind. I avoid looking at it. But it`s there. I have seen it.

MURPHY: How will you go on living with that?

ARIAS: I think it`s suppressed a lot of times. An I think it comes out in nightmares.

MURPHY: You have nightmares?

ARIAS: I`ve been told that I scream and cry. Several times, I`ve woken myself up screaming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Again, the jury has been deliberating almost seven hours now. They could come in with a decision at any moment. So we are here, outside the courthouse. The second we hear anything, we`re going to bring it to you.

Meantime, the woman who conducted that interview, Amy Murphy, thank you for joining us from ABC 15, a local Phoenix station. What was Jodi like when the camera wasn`t turned on?

MURPHY: Initially, when we got there, we knew there were rules we were going to be following. In fact, we were told no photographs and no camera shots of her in her handcuffs. We couldn`t shoot her below the waist, because she had her prison stripes on.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Who`s making all these decisions?

MURPHY: She did. She made the rules. And she basically said, you know, it`s -- "I`m going to comb my hair right now. Please turn the camera off. And can you stand in front of the camera while I put lip gloss on?"

So you know, there was another TV show that sort of burned her, as she puts it, showing her applying make-up. And so she didn`t want to, you know, be in that position once again. However, she wanted to look good for the cameras.

And I must say, she is extremely TV savvy, Jane. There was nothing I could have asked her where she was thrown off whatsoever. She was very much -- she had an answer for everything and very poised. And...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know what? When I`m hearing these interviews, it`s almost like she`s a candidate running for the city council or something. This is a woman, right now, as we speak, there are eight women -- excuse me, eight men, four women, 12 people up there on the fifth floor trying to decide whether to give her lethal injection, put a lethal injection in her arm. Did you get to that at all?

MURPHY: I did. I asked her. I said, you know, "If it comes back with death, have you thought about the moment they put that needle in your arm?"

And she said, "Oh, no," as if it was something she had never even considered as a possibility. And she said she would get to that bridge when she needed to cross it, if ever. And so to me, it was a little bit of wow, there really isn`t any reality sinking in here. Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She`s living her life, to me, like it`s a TV show. Like she`s, instead of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," it`s like "Real Inmates of Estrella Jail," and it`s some kind of reality.

MURPHY: It was a little bizarre. You know, we heard from some of the sheriff`s deputies who handle her at Estrella Jail, and they basically were saying that you know what? She`s a little bit of a pain. A little bit of a diva, so to speak.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A diva? You think? Oh, my gosh.

We`re just getting started. Again, the clock is ticking upstairs. Twelve people are trying to decide whether to kill her, and she`s putting on make-up and saying "Don`t show that in front of the camera." We`ll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURPHY: Did your family say that you have -- you have a life worth living?

ARIAS: My cousin convinced me. She -- the way she said it. She said that -- she said that, regardless of what happens, there`s still a lot of hope and a lot of things that can be done. And don`t do that to your mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I won`t be at my sister`s wedding when she ties the knot next year. And I won`t be -- I won`t be her wedding photographer like we`d always talked about.

The same is true for my brother Carl. The boy I grew up with became a family man. He and his wife married in 2010. I wasn`t there to celebrate with them, and I wasn`t there to take their pictures, and I have no one to blame but myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The jury has been deliberating for six hours and 55 minutes. A decision could come down at any moment. They are up there on the fifth floor. OK, eight men, four women and they could be at loggerheads. Because a little while ago, they went in and told the judge, "We can`t reach a unanimous decision."

And the judge said, "Go back and try some more."

Now, Samantha and Tanisha, the sisters of Travis Alexander, who have been there in court day in, day out, were sobbing at the news. This is just a huge blow to them.

I want to bring in two dear friends of the victim, Travis Alexander. Let`s remember: the man who was stabbed 29 times, whose throat was slit ear-to-ear, and who was shot in the face.

First to Michael Hughes, a dear friend of Travis. What is your reaction to this news that this jury came back and said, "We can`t reach a unanimous decision," and then they`re deliberating again? That piece of news?

MICHAEL HUGHES, FRIEND OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: You know, it`s a little frustrating that they deliberated for two -- about two hours and then came back and wanted to throw their hands up.

We`re hoping that they can work this out. I think the judge gave some really good advice today. And hopefully, they can just go in there and work out the details and leave out some of the emotion and just make it on the facts that this is a -- this is a -- this is a brutal crime that was committed that`s worthy of the death penalty.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dave Hall, you and I have spent a lot of time outside the courthouse. What is your reaction? And how do you think that the family of Travis Alexander -- Samantha, Tanisha, Stephen, his brother and all of those who have been there for the Alexanders -- feel about this?

DAVE HALL, FRIEND OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: You know, this has got to be extremely difficult for them after almost five months of sitting through all this testimony. The jury, actually doing good on the first two phases. For them to come back after a couple of hours and say, "We`re stumped," it`s got to be very frustrating.

But I know that, in the long run, their faith is in the fact that Jodi will meet the ultimate judge when she leaves this life. And that`s where she`s going to get the verdict that she really deserves.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now Jean Casarez, I want to bring you in briefly. When this jury was chosen, they were told about the death penalty, that that was a possibility. They had to be death-penalty qualified.

CASAREZ: Exactly. So what that means is at the time they said, if it was warranted, they would be able to impose the death penalty. Some people can`t, based on religious grounds, based on they just don`t want to judge the life or death of someone. But all of -- unanimously, this jury said they could do that.

But now they have to look at the evidence. They have to look at the arguments from both sides as to whether there are mitigating factors, sufficiently substantial, meaning a reason for her to live.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me put it this way, especially since the defense did not put on a mitigation case at all. In other words, they did not present any factors except for Jodi speaking for herself.

CASAREZ: The argument, the argument, because everything can be incorporated from the guilt phase.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, you`re talking about Jennifer Willmott. And some people gave her high marks for her closing argument.

I personally think that 90 percent of all human behavior is motivated by the subconscious. And this is something that I think has kind of been overlooked in this case, perhaps not by the defense. Maybe that`s why they put Jodi Arias was on the stand for 18 long days. Not because they expected anybody to agree with her or to think she`s not lying, but just to establish that unconscious bond between this human being, Jodi Arias, and the jury.

Let`s listen, and then we`re going to debate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: He began to remove my clothes.

I thought we were going to kiss. He lifted my skirt, pulled down my underwear.

He wanted me to dress up in a schoolgirl outfit.

Just swung me around and left me for dead (ph).

The main reason is I was very ashamed of what happened.

It`s hard to explain.

"Because I write right now that I love Travis Victor Alexander so perfectly."

I just had the sense that he was chasing after me.

Lying isn`t typically something I just do.

JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: And it killed him, right?

KIRK NURMI, JODI`S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Objection, your honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s debate it with our expert panel. Was this a subconscious strategy by the defense: keep Jodi Arias on the stand as long as possible so that the jurors, even if they don`t know it, form a bond, some kind of intimacy, like some kind of a relationship with Jodi Arias, starting with Evangeline Gomez for the defense?

EVANGELINE GOMEZ, ATTORNEY: No. I don`t think it was a strategy by the defense at all. In this situation, I think the jurors, after Jennifer Willmott -- and I will say, I thought she did an amazing presentation yesterday -- they could have gone home and thought about it. Naturally said, "You know what? Maybe this is something that deserves some more thinking about. Maybe she deserves life. Maybe she deserves death."

So I also think Jodi, we saw Jodi that we didn`t see during the trial. We saw a Jodi who was more natural, who was friendly.

And if there`s something that I noticed yesterday when Jodi made her statement, was she is a child. This is someone who is immature and someone who suffers from mental health issues.

And the problem here, the real injustice here, Jane, is that when you have trials, many times you have experts, you want them to come to conclusions.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There are so many issues. OK, it`s not a closing argument, Evangeline, with all due respect. I`m sorry.

Stacey Honowitz, I think we`re all, like, thinking, well, who is -- who are you looking at? Because I didn`t think that Jodi Arias got high marks yesterday at all.

HONOWITZ: I mean, I don`t know you think there`s an injustice at all in this case. There`s a dead victim who was slaughtered.

And so now this jury has to make a very tough decision. It`s not that easy. Whether the 18 days on the stand made a difference to them, the fact of the matter is, she was bad for those 18 days. She wasn`t truthful. She sparred with the prosecutor. So I don`t think you can get this feeling of "I really am bonding with her, and I like her."

I think the idea of putting someone to death weighs on people`s minds. And we will never know why juries think the way they do. And that`s why the Allen charge is so important. They had to go back there now, and each one of them not take a vote, but have to express why they feel there`s a mitigator and why they feel that she should go to death. And that`s what we`re waiting to hear.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Again, I think that the 60-plus days that this jury had to sit there and have some kind of relationship with Jodi Arias, whether they liked it or not, created something in their unconscious. I don`t think that they may even know why. But it`s a lot harder to do something that isn`t a hypothetical.

Hypothetically, you can say you`re capable of doing something, but it`s harder to do it. And the more you know about a person, the less abstract the decision becomes and the harder it becomes. I -- that`s my analysis of what`s going on. But I could be 100 percent wrong.

More on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: If I get permission, I`d like to implement a recycling program.

I`d like to start a book club or a reading group, something that brings people together in a positive and constructive way so that we can share and recommend books and stimulate discussions of a higher nature.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I designed a T-shirt. This is the T-shirt. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to support non-profit organizations which assist other victims of domestic violence.

Some people may not believe that I am a survivor of domestic violence. They`re entitled to their opinion. I`m supporting this cause, because it`s very, very important to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The jury deliberating life or death for Jodi Arias for seven hours and six minutes now up on the fifth floor. So let`s go off to the fifth floor where we have our producer, Selin Darkalstanian. She`s standing by on the phone. What`s going on there, Selin?

SELIN DARKALSTANIAN, HLN PRODUCER (via phone): Jane, I`m up here. There is a lot of media out in the hallway. The public gallery side is full. We`ve all been waiting here all day.

The jury is still not done. They are still in the jury room. They have not come out and told us that the jury is -- id done for the day. Remember, they have been working through lunch. I saw three of the jurors go down to the cafeteria and get some lunch, some salad, and fruits and sodas. And they walked back up and went into the jury room. We have not seen them exit all day. And they are still in there.

And I`m standing right outside the courtroom doors. And as of now, they are still deliberating, and there`s still no word on what will happen in the next five minutes, because we still have five minutes to go.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now meanwhile, Jodi Arias has been giving interview after interview after interview. And while 12 people are trying to decide whether she should live or die, she`s talking to ABC News about hair dye.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot has been made about your appearance and your change in appearance. Was going from blond bombshell to sort of the mousey church librarian look in court, was that a defense strategy? Was that your idea? What was that?

ARIAS: No, they don`t sell Clairol hair dye in jail. So this is my natural hair color.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there was more than just the hair color. The glasses. Overall, the demeanor is very different than the person that you were before this crime happened. What about that?

ARIAS: This is a court of law. It`s not a place to go and act, crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Again, Amy Murphy, from a local ABC affiliate here in Phoenix also spent about 40 minutes, at least, talking to Jodi Arias.

Do you think she has mental problems? A lot of people have told me there`s something that just doesn`t connect. Her eyes seem dead, and they don`t match her body movement.

MURPHY: There is a little bit of a vacuity in her eyes when you look at her and you`re asking her question after question. It could be something a little more lighthearted or something that`s much more serious, and there`s no change. So that may be where that comes from.

But she admitted to me that she knows she has mental problems, and she`s not getting help for them and she didn`t get help for them in the past. And I told her, I said, "What you did to Travis was insane by most accounts, by what most people believe." And I asked her, I said, "Why doesn`t the defense go for an insanity plea?"

She said, "I don`t know."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Did you get -- a lot of people have told me, I talked to a lot of Travis`s friends, that they`ve gotten chills, that when they first met her, they got creeped out is the phrase.

And I want to go to Dave Hall on that, because I`ve talked to you and so many of your friends. This disconnect is really apparent, apparently, when you meet her in person, which I haven`t had the dubious honor of doing, and I don`t really think I want to.

HALL: You`re right, Jane. And probably one of the biggest reasons why her defense team did not go for the insanity plea is there`s just way too many calculated moves: from stealing the gun to the gas cans to turning off her battery. She`s not insane. She`s evil. And that`s what we felt when we met her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I`ve got to tell you: the jury has just wrapped up for the day. Now they have deliberated seven honors and 10 minutes over the course of two days.

This is breaking news. They are going home for the day. Tomorrow is the last day before the big Memorial Day holiday. And everybody here -- look at all the media from all around the world, as far away as Japan -- wondering what on earth is going to happen tomorrow?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I will concede that, with Travis`s family, theirs is a much greater loss. And I could never make up for it. It`s my hope that with the verdict you`ve rendered thus far, that they will finally gain a sense of closure.

Stephen said he doesn`t want to look at his brother`s murderer anymore. If I get life, he won`t have to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER WILLMOTT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She was once a bubbly and happy little girl.

JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: You can`t forget what happened on June 4th, 2008.

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED MURDERER: I was horrified with what I had done.

MARTINEZ: Travis Alexander will be forever young.

ARIAS: I never meant to cause them so much pain.

SAMANTHA ALEXANDER, SISTER OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: This is the last time I saw Travis.

ARIAS: I know it`s because of me that that will always it`s the last picture that she will ever take with Travis.

STEPHEN ALEXANDER, BROTHER OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: I never got that call.

ARIAS: I know that`s because of me.

MARTINEZ: Return a verdict of death.

ARIAS: I loved Travis and I looked up to him. I lied about what I did and I lied about the nature of my relationship with Travis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Jane Velez-Mitchell back live from the Maricopa County courthouse here in Phoenix, Arizona. 7:11 -- is it a lucky number? If so, for whom? That`s exactly how long this jury has deliberated, life or death, for Jodi Arias without coming to a conclusion. Seven hours and 11 minutes over the course of two days.

And of course, dramatic events when several hours ago, they told the judge, "We can`t decide unanimously. We`re at loggerheads." And she said "Go back and talk some more." Now they have quit for the day. They are back tomorrow.

You just left court, Selin Darkalstanian, our senior producer here on our show -- what is happening?

SELIN DARKALSTANIAN, HLN SENIOR PRODUCER: We waited all day outside of court, Jane. In the morning, there was a lot of activity because we got there and they pulled us into the courtroom. We didn`t know.

We knew there wasn`t a verdict because they were going to give us an hour head`s up. When there`s a verdict we will know one hour ahead of time. So we were pulled into the courtroom. Nobody knew what was going on. The jury was brought in. The family -- Alexander family came in. Jodi`s mom was not there.

And then we found out that the jury can`t come to a decision. The judge said you have to go back and try again. It was a lot of waiting on pins and needles. We didn`t know what would happen today. And there`s no verdict, yet.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s crazy. I have to tell you, you see all the court watchers back there -- everybody waiting.

Hold on, there`s a lady with a sign. Elsie, you have a sign every day. It said, "I read: an eye for an eye is just." Ok. So there`s a supporter of the death penalty. But, I have to say, we don`t know what the jurors are deciding, except that they were at loggerheads several hours ago.

Beth Karas, the judge said go back and deliberate some more. Ok. Now, tomorrow is the last day before the Memorial Day holiday. Court is apparently now, we`ve been told closed Friday. Monday, this building closed. So tomorrow is like this crucial, crucial day. What if they can`t reach a decision? What then?

BETH KARAS, HLN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: They`ll be back next week is what I predict. Now, here is why. They are deciding whether or not someone is going to live or die. This is the most important decision jurors make. They don`t make it in every state. Only 32 states have the death penalty.

I had heard, and now I know because CNN`s Ted Rowlands interviewed a juror from a case last year here in this county that was death penalty, in that case, the jury said they were undecided twice and after four days, they came back with death. This jury has said it once. They are working hard. If they say it again tomorrow, I`m not convinced that this judge would hang them tomorrow. There`s so much invested in this case, so much time, so much money. Wait -- give them more time.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: If, let`s say, they come back again, does the prosecutor have the opportunity to say -- let`s say at the end of tomorrow, "We can`t decide"? Does the prosecutor have an opportunity then to step in and say "Ok, I`ll take death off the table, let`s just wrap this up"?

KARAS: Yes, but I don`t think that that would happen immediately. The case would be mistried and then at some later date, they would come in and resolve it in a sense -- it wouldn`t happen in front of all of us in a day or two.

That is an option. And it`s not Juan Martinez`s decision. It`s his boss, Mr. Montgomery.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Because it would be very, very expensive to now try to find a new 12 jurors to try this phase of the case, just the penalty phase. And we`ve all been talking about how do you try just a penalty phase? How do you just decide we are going to bring in 12 people to say should she live or die who didn`t hear the case when this case went on since January 2nd.

All right. Let`s debate it. Should death be taken off the table? Yes or now. But first, let`s hear from Jodi Arias herself, then we will argue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you mentally, emotionally, ready to meet your Maker if that`s their decision?

ARIAS: Well, I`m ready to meet my Maker, but if that time should come, if that`s their decision, it would drag on for years and years. So, it`s not really contemporaneous -- do you know what I mean?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are saying you have a lot of time. Even if you get death, you still have years to live. Do you think about what that moment would be like?

ARIAS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they put the needle in your arm? You have thought about that.

ARIAS: I haven`t thought about that. No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all?

ARIAS: Not in great detail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have you thought about pertaining to that?

ARIAS: I have thought about more like, the moments immediately following the announcement following the verdict. I have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen at that point. At that point, it will just be taking it day by day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who convinced you? Did your family say look, you have --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Should death be off the table? Let`s debate it starting with Fred Tecce for the prosecution.

FRED TECCE, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Hey look, Jane, I don`t like this woman, I would throw the switch myself with her. But you know, when you are a prosecutor, your job is to represent the victims and the citizens of your state. And I would -- first thing I would do is I would talk to the Alexander family. Depending on what they say -- I mean one other thing you could do is take the death penalty off the table.

You can say look, Jodi, here is the deal. You waive your rights to appeal, you promise to never shoot your mouth off on TV ever again then let`s take it off the table.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Guess what, I`m going jump in for one second. I`m going to jump in -- hey I`m going to jump in for one second just to say, here is the family of Travis Alexander. They are leaving. There`s Stephen and there`s Tanisha, a frustrating day for them, certainly Tanisha the woman in the blue, cobalt blue was crying in court.

Listen, they are all from California. The only one of the Alexander family who had lived in Arizona was Travis Alexander. They had to live out of a suitcase since December. You see the media, the crews running down the street chasing them because everybody would love to know what they are thinking right now. They have not been speaking, generally walking in and out of court.

But we could tell that -- let`s go over here if we can and just see - - they have been surrounded by media over there. You can see over there in the corner through the trees as they are walking. It doesn`t appear that they are stopping to talk. I can tell you just from their tears, now they are stopping at the light. We don`t know.

But, they have haven`t been talking, walking in and out. I can just tell you from their tears that this was a very, very, very, very, very frustrating day for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: To this day, I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence but I know that I was. And for that, I`m going to be sorry for the rest of my life -- probably longer.

I was horrified with what I had done and I`m horrified still.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I was hoping to go quietly into the night whether off to prison or the next life. But with the amount of attention my case received early on, I felt in my ignorance that it was necessary to speak out. I got on TV and I lied. I lied about what I did. And I lied about the nature of my relationship with Travis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: 7:11 -- seven hours, 11 minutes, that`s how long the jury has deliberated life or death for Jodi Arias without coming to a conclusion. And even at one point today saying they can`t decide unanimously, the judge sent them back for more. They are back tomorrow.

Meantime Jodi Arias doing a press junket, media tour. She spoke to ABC News and it was an extraordinary interview. Listen to Jodi Arias talk about haters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you really are never going to tell the truth about what went down in that bathroom?

ARIAS: I don`t know what you mean by that because I told the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok.

ARIAS: I didn`t know you were a hater when you came to interview me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jeff Gardere, clinical psychologist -- boy do we need you tonight. The reporters who have interviewed her along with all of Travis` friends say there`s something seriously wrong with this woman. Her lack of concern, joking about haters and hair dye at a time when, what? Oh, oh, Chris Hughes, they are right here. Deanna Reid -- that is the former girlfriend of Travis Alexander. She took the stand. You see her there in the purple dress leaving along with Samantha, who is a police officer from Carlsbad, California who has had to put her life on hold. They are leaving with their good friend Chris Hughes. What a day for them. My heart goes out to them -- really horrible, horrible, horrible the emotional turmoil that continues.

Jeff Gardere, here is this woman creating all of this turmoil and she`s joking about haters and talking about hair dye?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well this is a part of the borderline personality. By the way, the defense wanted to paint her as being with PTSD or having some battered woman syndrome. It was the prosecution who said look this woman is emotionally damaged. She`s borderline. And as we typically see with borderlines, a lot of times they can be very antagonistic. They see things as black and white.

You are not on my side? Therefore you are a hater. The last thing she needs to be right now Jane, is antagonistic and coming off as being prideful. She just needs to show her sorrow and she just needs to let people know that what she has done is wrong and she feels horrible about it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen, she`s tweeting. Michael Hughes, your brother, Chris Hughes just left with the Alexander family. We just saw him walk behind us. She`s tweeting. Jodi Arias is tweeting. "Watch out for good looking reporters." I mean does that give you an inkling of her lack of -- it`s almost like she`s taunting the family.

MICHAEL HUGHES, FRIEND OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: I think she is. You know, me and my wife, we sat in there and watched a few interviews last night. We couldn`t stomach it. I mean I knew Jodi before and she -- the things that she`s saying right now, it`s appalling. I can`t imagine what this is doing to the family. I don`t know how much they are listening to this but it`s got to be making them sick.

They are ready to get their lives in order and move on. It`s really sad what`s going on today with the jury. I just wish that they could speed that up.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me ask you a question. If you had to choose, let`s say they come back tomorrow, they say we`re still -- maybe they -- let`s say, let`s just say hypothetically they say they are hopelessly deadlocked. Ok. They could come back with a decision tomorrow morning, but let`s say they say they are deadlocked. Would you rather see the state try to get 12 new jurors to hear the penalty phase or would you rather the prosecutor say ok, we`ll go for life in prison? Michael.

HUGHES: I think that life in prison would be a better option. At least they would have -- they could move on with closure. If they wind up getting a new jury, that could go on for weeks and weeks. And so that`s probably not what the family would have but I don`t -- I haven`t really discussed that with the family. I know that they are looking for the maximum penalty for this case and to get closure after that.

I don`t know if they want another option. In my personal opinion, if she were to get life in prison, that would be the next best option besides going to another jury.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. On the other side of the break, we are going to ask Travis Alexander`s, the victim`s good friend Dave Hall the same question. Stay right there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLMOTT: Jodi was a good friend. But there are people who care about her. And when we talk about these people, you heard them when they testified during the guilt phase. When she would come to these PPL meetings and these super Saturday meetings, these people enjoyed her, that she got along well with people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY HAYDEN, FOX CORRESPONDENT: Jodi, the fact that you talked to me, you know, 20 minutes after you were convicted and, you know, the fact that you`re talking to all of us again now, are you trying to use the media for something? Why are you talking to us?

ARIAS: Why are you talking to me?

HAYDEN: Because we`re interested in what you have to say. The bigger question is why you have an interest in talking to us.

ARIAS: Well, I was interested in talking to you so that -- well, I wanted to keep my deal that I made with you. I regret making that deal with you. But contrary to what everyone thinks I`m a person of my word and I wanted to keep that and honor that.

What I`ve decided to do at this point is utilize the mouthpiece that I have, so to speak, to bring awareness to domestic violence. And like I said in our interview previously and I was told you didn`t air it, which that`s ok, it is what it is, but I really want to stress to people that -- women, maybe men, it`s rare -- but women who are in my situation -- who were in the situation that I was in that it`s so important that they document what they`re going through in case something down the road ever does happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Travis Alexander`s sisters Samantha and Tanisha sobbing as they get word in court that the jurors are at loggerheads and told the judge they can`t decide whether to kill Jodi Arias or not. Now they started deliberating again. They`re back tomorrow, the clock stopped at 7:11, seven hours, 11 minutes.

Dave Hall -- and I want to ask my panelists after this -- Dave Hall, if the jury is ultimately hopelessly deadlocked, what should be done?

DAVE HALL, FRIEND OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: Well, the first thing we need to do is look at the ratios. Was it 11-1 or was it 6-6? I think that has a big factor on whether or not the family will choose to go through another trial. But the financial burden has cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars, relationships with their children, spouses, lost opportunities at work. It`s a huge toll on the family to go through this again.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stacey Honowitz, for the prosecution, what should be done?

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA PROSECUTOR: Well, listen, like Dave said, the fact of the matter is, the family really gets to make this decision. It`s whether or not this has made them so strong and that they want justice ultimately or like he said it`s been such a burden on them, it`s so difficult, they want closure, they will go to the prosecutor and the prosecutor will rely on what they have to say in making his decision.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dana Swickle?

DANA SWICKLE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, I agree with what Stacey just said. I mean, the truth of the matter is, we have to consider or the state attorney should consider what the family is feeling, what they`re going through, if they want to go through seeing all those pictures all over again. At some point in time it may not be about the quote/unquote --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Evangeline Gomez.

EVANGELINE GOMEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think the state should consider taking the death penalty off the table if they`re going to run into some type of gridlock. Will this happen? Probably not. You`ve obviously got the pressure of the family and the community that the county prosecutor`s office represents.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Got to leave it right there. We`re out of time. We`re back tomorrow. They`re going to be deliberating again tomorrow morning. We`ll tell you exactly what happened tomorrow night.

Nancy next.

END