Jodi Arias Verdict: No Death Penalty After Jury Hung Again; Second Mistrial For Convicted Murderer Of Travis Alexander

Convicted murderer Jodi Arias will live. A Phoenix jury Thursday morning said it was hung in sentencing Arias -- who USA Today called "the most hated woman in America" -- after deliberating for five days, according to The Associated Press. Judge Sherry Stephens declared a mistrial, and because it's the second such ruling in the case, the death penalty is no longer an option.

Stephens, who denied defense attorneys' request for a mistrial over an alleged deadlock earlier in the week, is scheduled to sentence Arias on April 13. Arias will either spend the rest of her life in prison or be eligible for parole after 25 years.

Arias, 34, was found guilty in May 2013 of murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in his Arizona home in 2008. During her trial, Arias took the stand for 18 days, telling the court about being abused as a child and detailing her sex life with Alexander. She said Alexander physically and emotionally abused her, and she killed him out of self-defense -- stabbing Alexander nearly 30 times, slitting his throat and shooting him.

The original jury also was hung on whether to sentence Arias to death or life in prison, causing the judge to declare the initial mistrial. The penalty phase retrial started in October 2014 and made headlines when the court forbade the media from being present during the testimony of a secret witness.

The verdict, though, was read on-air Thursday. Sobbing could be heard in a live feed from the Maricopa County courtroom.

Arias previously has said she preferred death. In 2013, she told local station KSAZ that dying seemed like freedom to her. "Longevity runs in my family, and I don't want to spend the rest of my natural life in one place," Arias said, according to Business Insider. "I believe death is the ultimate freedom, and I'd rather have my freedom as soon as I can get it," she said.