Infamous killer Jodi Arias hinted at possibly mounting a fresh legal fight concerning her conviction, having spent over ten years incarcerated for killing Travis Alexander.
The now 45-year-old is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the grisly 2008 murder of her ex-boyfriend.
Throughout the years, she has made numerous attempts to have her conviction from 2013 annulled, each resulting in failure, but it appears she might have a new strategy in mind.
Speculation about a new legal challenge was sparked when Arias made some mysterious updates to her blog.
On June 27, Arias took to her blog to address speculations about her alleged flirtations with guards at Perryville state women’s prison in Arizona, where she is known to sell her art, operate as an informal loan provider, and run a small tattoo business.
‘While it might be hard for some to comprehend, flirting is hardly a priority of mine,’ she stated. ‘It’s pointless and does nothing to advance my objectives.’
Arias clarified that her priorities revolve around ‘PCR (post-conviction relief), creating art, and writing, which includes manuscripts that might never see publication.’
Arias appears eager to communicate this message, as the June 27 entry is among the only two publicly accessible posts on her blog. The other public entry, posted earlier in June, denies rumors that she is earning millions.
Yet, she notes that she does sell her artwork, the revenue for which ‘is used for Knapp counsel, which is a kind of assistant lawyer in addition to my court-appointed lawyer to tackle my ginormous case file.’
Notorious murderer Jodi Arias (pictured in 2015) teased that she may be making a new legal challenge to her conviction
Arias was convicted in 2013 of murdering her boyfriend Travis Alexander
In Arizona, inmates can try for post-conviction relief after all of the standard appeals have been exhausted.
It can be used to introduce new evidence or raise constitutional concerns, though it is unclear how Arias may pursue the post-conviction relief.
She was found guilty of murder in 2013, with prosecutors saying she violently attacked Alexander at his home in Mesa in a jealous rage.
The couple had met in September 2006 at a work conference in Las Vegas. Because they lived in different states, their relationship was off-and-on for more than a year.
But while Alexander saw the relationship as being casual, Arias took it far more seriously.
In court, prosecutors claimed Arias was a jealous and manipulative girlfriend who often raged at Alexander when she found out he had been dating other women.
Authorities also alleged that Alexander was planning a trip to Mexico with another woman, leading her to plot to murder him.
Alexander was found dead in his shower on June 4, 2008, after sustaining 27 stab wounds, a slit throat and a gunshot wound to the head.
Alexander was found dead in his shower on June 4, 2008, after sustaining 27 stab wounds, a slit throat and a gunshot wound to the head
Prosecutors argued Arias was a jealous and manipulative girlfriend who often raged at Alexander when she found out he had been dating other women
Grisly crime scene photos like this one were released to the public and shown on TV
A digital camera found in Alexander’s washing machine also included a number of images of Arias and the victim in sexual poses, and another taken moments after Alexander was murdered.
The image showed him ‘profusely bleeding’ on the bathroom floor, where a bloody handprint was found that contained Arias’ DNA.
Arias initially denied the murder but later admitted to doing so as she claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Arias has tried several times to get her conviction overturned.
Most recently, in 2020, her lawyers argued that Maricopa County prosecutor Juan Martinez’s misconduct and a judge’s failure to control news coverage during the case deprived her of the right to a fair trial.
But a three-member appeals court, in a 29-page opinion, unanimously concluded that prosecutor Juan Martinez’s conduct in the case didn’t outweigh Arias´ guilt.
‘We conclude that Arias was convicted based upon the overwhelming evidence of her guilt, not as a result of prosecutorial misconduct,’ the ruling said.
However, it noted ‘an egregious case of misconduct by a highly experienced prosecutor’ who ‘improperly engaged in self-promoting conduct.’
The panel condemned Martinez’s ‘argumentative phrasing of questions’ to defense witnesses, adding that his ‘aggressive tone and combative, bullying behavior’ were recurring issues in the trial and Arias’ attorneys moved for a mistrial six times.
‘We strongly disapprove of his actions, we are compelled to follow the well-established principle that we do not “reverse convictions merely to punish a prosecutor’s misdeeds.”‘
Arias shows off artwork she created behind bars in January
Arias is housed at the medium security Perryville Correctional Facility
Still, it appears Arias is living quite comfortably at the Perryville Correctional Facility.
She has held a job as a library aide since 2022 and was more recently assigned to assist with the prison’s music programs, according to Fox News.
Public records also show she is housed in a medium-low security unit, where Arias is given opportunities to express herself.
‘Whatever comes into her mind to do, she does. And no one even questions her,’ Berna Martez, who was imprisoned alongside Arias at the prison, previously told Daily Mail.
‘She’s got more money than anyone else, the guards all like her, and she’s just on a different level from everyone else,’ she claimed.
Yet a male guard at Perryville insisted that even though Arias is popular at the prison, she does not get to break the law.
‘I don’t want it to sound like she is bringing contraband in, or doing something like that,’ he said, ‘but she understands how this place works, and she knows how to navigate around here to her advantage. She’s very smart.’
‘We don’t let her get away with murder,’ the guard continued. ‘On the contrary, she gets a lot of scrutiny.’
