The jury found Andriano guilty Nov. 18, about 15 minutes after they went into the jury room..
jurors didn't believe Andriano's testimony, given over nine days on the stand.. "The defense didn't have a lot of evidence, period," Percy said. "I don't think the defense had a lot to work with."But the decision to execute Andriano was far more difficult, she and the five other jurors all said.
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When the deliberations began, the nine women and three men took a vote. Only three supported a death sentence, with four favoring a life sentence and the others undecided..
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"But we could not find mitigating factors that overwhelmed the cruelty. To me, to everybody there, the knife wound was the crowning blow. She had three chances to back off."
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Some said they were moved by Andriano's plea for life during the mitigation phase on Dec. 16, just before the final deliberations, while others considered it an Academy Award acting job.*"I just thought, 'What an act you're putting on, honey,' " Fobes said. "She was such a liar. How could you believe anything she told you?"The emotional impact of Andriano's 45-minute plea, in which she admitting making "a horrible choice that night" but insisted her cancer-stricken husband wanted to commit suicide, may have waned as days passed and jurors focused on the details of the case, Fobes said.Erke was moved."Her speech was heartfelt. It teared me up," he said. But "I thought she was more sorry for the consequences of what she did than for the actions.
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As the third day of deliberations ended, Fobes said she told the holdout juror, a Gilbert senior citizen, "Wendi has manipulated you. He said, 'Yes, I know.' "*The next day, the holdout gave a short speech saying he changed his mind.
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The jury delivered the death penalty verdict Dec. 22."Walking in there with that verdict, I was shaking like a leaf," Erke said, the daunting power of deciding if someone lives or dies overwhelming him. "It's 'Oh, my God, it's really happened.' "Most are still mulling over their decision, but only one juror, a young nurse, expressed doubts.*"Sometimes, I think I'm too hard-hearted," Fobes said. "But she didn't feel any sympathy for him (the husband)."Percy said a telling look from Andriano was reassuring after a clerk read the verdict."She gave us a look like, 'How dare you?' " Percy said. "I thought, 'I made the right decision.' "
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