Jode Arias is currently awaiting a decision by prosecutors on the future of her murder case, and her attorney's are slated to return to court Tuesday to ask the judge to dismiss the jury's finding that made her eligible for the death penalty.
Jodi Arias, a former waitress from California, was found guilty of murdering Travis Alexander in June 2008. Alexander had been stabbed 27 times; his throat slashed and was shot in the face.
According to the Associated Press, the oral arguments that will be presented on Tuesday focus on the decision reached by the jury that Arias killed Alexander in an "especially cruel" manner. The determination makes Arias eligible for the death penalty which her attorneys argue.
They say the definition of "especially cruel" is too vague for jurors with no legal experience to determine what makes one killing more cruel or heinous than another. Their June motion appears to challenge a landmark 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a defendant has the right to have a jury, rather than a judge, decide on the existence of an aggravating factor that makes the defendant eligible for capital punishment.
In court filings, prosecutors have asked the judge to begin new penalty-phase proceedings on July 30.
Jodi Arias' trial began in January and become a staple for U.S. cable television viewers with its tale of a soft-spoken, young woman charged with such a brutal crime. The trial was filled with graphic testimony and bloody photographs.
