Jodi Aria is eligible for the death penalty as she returns to court today to start the sentencing phase of her murder trial. Jurors will decide whether Arias will get life in prison or be put to death. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in death of Travis Alexander.

The Jodi Arias trial hypnotized viewers as lurid details of sex and violence played out on TV. The same jury that convicted Arias last week of first degree murder for the death of her boyfriend will now decide whether she gets the death penalty or spend the rest of her life in prison.

A woman whose trial riveted viewers with details of sex and violence returns to court Thursday, as the same jury that took less than three hours to convict the former waitress of first-degree murder last week in the death of her boyfriend now weighs whether she should be sentenced to life in prison or death.

Prosecutors have already proved to the jury that the slaying was cruel and heinous.

Arias at first blamed the attack on masked intruders and denied that she had anything to do with the killing. She later claimed self-defense and admitted that she killed Travis Alexander at his home in suburban Phoenix after a day of sex on June 4, 2008. Prosecutors said Alexander wanted to break free of Arias and take a trip to Mexico with another woman. In a jealous rage, prosecutors proved, Arias slashed her lover’s throat, stabbed him 30 times and shot him in the face.

At the penalty phase prosecutors will call members of Travis Alexander’s family, along with other witnesses, in an attempt to get the death penalty. Defense lawyers will call Arias family members to the stand, as well as other people who have known her over the years, to try and get enough sympathy for the jurors to save her life. It is unclear whether Arias, herself, will testify.

Arias has gone on record as saying she would prefer death over life in prison. She told a local news program, “Longevity runs in my family, and I don't want to spend the rest of my natural life in one place. I believe death is the ultimate freedom, and I'd rather have my freedom as soon as I can get it."

Arias was put on suicide watch soon after.

It’s up to the jury now to decide whether she will get her wish.

 by Tony Sokol