Jodi Arias, the 32-year-old woman who was found guilty on May 8 of first-degree murder for the 2008 of Travis Alexander, pleaded for a life sentence to jurors on Tuesday, asking them not to punish her family, USA Today reported. In her testimony, Arias referred to the family of her one -time lover and victim Travis Alexander, saying "I never meant to cause them pain." Alexander was found dead in his Mesa Arizona home, having been shot in the head and stabbed nearly 30 times with his throat slit.
Arias acknowledged that her plea for a life sentence represented a reversal of remarks she gave to a TV reporter after her conviction in which she said that she preferred the death penalty.
"Each time I said that, I meant it, but I lacked perspective. Until very recently, I could not imagine standing before you and asking you to give me life," Arias said. "I cannot in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death, because of them," Arias said while pointing to her family. "I think death is tantamount to suicide. Either, I will spend the rest of my life in prison. It will either be shortened, or not. If it is shortened, the people who will be hurt is my family. I am asking, please, please, don't do that to them."
Her long testimony including photographs, which appeared on a screen to her left. She also held up a white T-shirt with the word "survivor" written across it, telling jurors she would sell the clothing and donate all proceeds to domestic abuse victims. She said she would sell her charity while in prison, something she had already done three times.
She regretted her trial became a spectacle, and gave a defense of Alexander, saying "it has never been my intention to malign his name or character. In fact, it was a goal of mine to protext his reputation. I loved Travis, and I looked up to him. At one point he was the world to me. This is the worst mistake of my life. It's the worst thing I've ever done," she said.
