Jodi Arias sentenced to life in prison

An Arizona judge has sentenced Jodi Arias to natural life in prison with no possibility of release.

Arias, 34, was convicted of the murder of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander. The case gained national attention as Arias changed her account of Alexander's 2008 death, first saying intruders had killed him and later saying it was self-defense.

Last month, a jury failed to decide whether Arias should be given the death penalty or life in prison, but the mistrial "removed the death penalty as an option," The Associated Press reports. Judge Sherry Stephens then had to decide whether Arias would be eligible for release from prison after 25 years.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

After being convicted of murder, Arias had told a local reporter that she would "rather die sooner than later" and preferred the death penalty to a life in prison, AP reports. She will serve her sentence in the maximum-security Perryville women's prison, about 30 miles outside Phoenix.