Jodi Arias speaks out about case in jailhouse interview as jury deliberates her fate

PHOENIX – In a surprise jailhouse interview just hours after a jury began deliberating her fate, Jodi Arias spoke out Tuesday about her murder trial, her many fights with her legal team and her belief that she “deserves a second chance at freedom someday.”

Arias spoke to The Associated Press as part of a series of interviews with media outlets that she selected. She repeated many of her claims from previous interviews, testimony on the witness stand and her statements to the jury earlier Tuesday as she pleaded for mercy.

But she provided some new information about her case and how she believed her lawyers let her down by not calling more witnesses who could have bolstered her claims that she a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Travis Alexander.

Arias was convicted last week of first-degree murder in the June 4, 2008, stabbing and shooting death of her one-time lover in what prosecutors described as a cold, calculated killing carried out in a jealous rage. Arias maintained all along it was self-defence.

The jury began deliberating her fate Tuesday as they worked to determine whether she should be live or die for her crime. If the jury opts for a life sentence, the judge will have the option of determining whether she spends the rest of her days behind bars or is eligible for release after 25 years. Arias acknowledged it was unlikely she would ever be released, but believed she deserves a second chance.

Following her conviction, she said she preferred the death penalty in an interview with a local TV station. She said she changed her mind after a tearful meeting with family members, realizing that her death would only cause them more pain.

“I felt like by asking for death, it’s like asking for assisted suicide and I didn’t want to do that to my family,” she said.

Arias said she fought from the beginning to keep cameras out of the courtroom to limit the media spectacle, and believes that the jury should have been sequestered. She stated flatly that she did not receive a fair trial.

“The prosecutor has accused me of wanting to be famous, which is not true,” she said.

However, Arias has sought the spotlight at every turn, providing TV interviews and even using a third-party to Tweet throughout the trial.

Arias repeated her claims that she never wanted to go to trial in the first place but instead wanted to reach a deal with prosecutors on a second-degree murder count that would have carried a maximum of 22 years in prison. However, she said, “no deal was offered.”