PHOENIX – Jodi Arias' lawyers are asking a judge to sequester the jury in her second trial to shield them from the intense publicity that surrounded her first trial.
Arias was convicted of first-degree murder May 8 in the 2008 death of boyfriend Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. The same jury failed to reach a decision on whether she should get the death penalty, setting the stage for a second penalty phase.
The judge hasn't set a new trial date, but Arias' lawyers filed a motion this week seeking to have the new panel sequestered. They say it would "ensure that the jury is not exposed to community and/or media influence."
Arias admitted she killed Alexander, but in self-defense. Prosecutors argued it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage.
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