Jodi Arias: Jury Fails To Reach Verdict

A mistrial has been declared in Jodi Arias' sentencing retrial after jurors deadlocked on whether she should be put to death or serve life in prison.

Jurors were reportedly split 11-1 in favour of the death penalty for Arias, who was convicted in 2013 of the brutal killing of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.

The lack of a unanimous verdict forced Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens to declare a mistrial, which removes the death penalty as an option.

Sentencing now falls to the judge, who must decide whether Arias will serve life in prison or a life term with the possibility of parole in 25 years. A hearing has been scheduled for 13 April.

The deadlock marked the second failed attempt by a jury to agree on Arias' sentence.

The first jury in the high-profile case left the matter unresolved in 2013, prompting a penalty retrial before a new jury.

But the panel of eight women and four men could not come to a unanimous agreement after five days of deliberation.

Arias' attorneys said earlier in the week that jurors were at an impasse, but the judge denied a mistrial request at the time and ordered jurors to continue deliberating.

Members of Mr Alexander's family wept in court as the judge read out the jury's decision on Thursday.

"Jurors have indicated minds are made up ... We are hung and additional time will not change this," the jury foreman wrote in the note read aloud by Judge Stephens.

Mr Alexander's sister, Tanisha Sorenson, tearfully told reporters outside the court: "The real justice will be in the afterlife, when Jodi burns in hell."

Arias' case became a sensation and the trial was broadcast live, drawing a large audience with its lurid details, graphic testimony and blood-splattered crime scene photos.

Mr Alexander’s body was found in a shower at his Phoenix-area home in 2008. In addition to his throat being cut, he had been stabbed multiple times and shot in the face.

Arias said she acted in self-defence, but prosecutors accused her of murdering her former partner in a jealous rage.