I don't know if this sentencing aspect has been clarified in this thread yet, but Beth Karas told KCL if death is not imposed, then Judge gets to decide LWOP or Life with Parole.
(snipped)
Originally Posted by katiecoolady 4-6-13
But I made the most of my time in the hallway with a pretty substantial little chat with Beth Karas about how things are gonna go down from here on out, the penalty phase, timing etc.
So, I'll share that.
Ok so now if that conviction comes in (which I believe it will 1st degreel), we go to the Aggravation Hearing.
The Agg. Hearing will decide one thing and is guided by Martinez. It's decided whether the crime meets the criteria for "cruel" as defined in the statute which qualifies it for the Death Penalty (again I think by now everyone knows where i stand here--I believe it does and believe it will qualify). I put the legal definition for "especially cruel" on the next page here.
THen the jury deliberates again on this and comes back with a decision: cruelty met or not.
If the criteria for cruelty has been met, then we go to the Mitigation phase. If it's not been met then there will be no mitigation and it's decided LIFE will be the sentence and it's handed to the Judge who then decides whether it's Life WITH or WITHOUT Parole.
I don't think this will occur though.
The Mitigation phase will last longer probably than the Aggravation Phase because witnesses will be called and the entire point of this phase is to try and save Jodi Arias' life (which I do not believe will be successful). I'm sure family will testify and others (ALV was purportedly slated for this which I seriously doubt will happen now). Jodi herself may make a statement , not for cross examination but just a statement which I suspect she will during this phase.
THen it goes back to the jury again to decide whether or not the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances and will come back with a recommendation of LIFE or DEATH (which I believe the latter is secure imo).
Once that decision is reached and declared, the jury is discharged and it now goes to the Judge to impose sentence in 30-60 days and there will be another hearing where sentence will be imposed. The jury's finding of DEATH , if they do, will be binding, meaning the Judge can't go down. If it is LIFE, she decides LWOP or LWP. It's then when Victim Impact Statements will be read. And Jodi will find herself transferred to her new abode which imo will be on AZ Death Row.
HLN will cover the entire trial until the jury is discharged. It's unlikely they will be there for the final handing down of the sentence but surely local media will film it and cover it on a live feed.
I hope this helps! I found it extraordinarily instructive and many thanks to our wonderful Beth Karas who is so open and willing to share her vast knowledge!