Juror who saved Jodi Arias' life speaks out for first time

Brahm Resnik | KPNX-TV, Phoenix

Show Caption Hide Caption Jodi Arias juror: 'I didn't want this pressure' Hear from the lone juror who cast the vote that saved convicted murderer Jodi Arias from the death penalty. Now the 33-year-old mother of three is getting threats to her own life.

PHOENIX — A juror condemned for casting the vote that saved the life of convicted killer Jodi Arias now says her life is being threatened.

Juror 17, who is not being identified because of the threats and because the names of the other jurors in the murder case have not been revealed, said she didn't try to get on the jury.

"I didn't ask for this. I just showed up for jury duty," the 33-year-old mother of three said.

In the course of her hourlong interview with with KPNX-TV, Phoenix, Juror 17 described the attacks on her and her family; "brutal" battles inside the jury room; and, finally, why she believes Arias should not be put to death for the savage murder of boyfriend Travis Alexander.

This second mistrial in the sentencing phase of Arias' trial means Arias now faces a sentence of life in prison.

"It wasn't easy, I didn't ask for it, I didn't want it," she said of the jury assignment. "All I did was answer the questions truthfully. I didn't want to be involved. I didn't want this pressure."

The 11 jurors who voted for the death penalty have condemned Juror 17. They say she made few comments during their 26 hours of deliberations over five days. Late in the deliberations, they tried to have her kicked off the jury.

The reaction on social media has been murderous.

Twitter and Facebook have been filled with threats against the woman and her family members. Her name, address, phone number and a photo of her home were posted online shortly after the mistrial was declared.

During the course of the interview, Juror 17 took on a conspiracy theory that won't die: That she was the "stealth juror" who fooled everyone to save Jodi Arias from the needle.

She says she did know about the Arias case before she was seated on the jury, but not much.

"I live in Arizona, so I had heard about the case and I had seen just when they would come up on the news," she said. "I would hear people talk about it, and it wasn't something I really wanted to get sucked in to — not with the problems I had going on at the time."

But Juror 17 would get hooked.

"The day that I went to jury duty, there was a lot of people there, but they were calling for a lot of cases," she said. "What are the odds that I'm going to be called in for that case?"

People at the courthouse were saying this could be the Jodi Arias death-penalty trial, the second one after a mistrial was declared the first time. Juror 17 was brought to a courtroom. Arias was there.

"From that very moment I was, like, 'Oh my God,'" she said. "I want to say that I was shaking even. The seriousness of the matter hit me right away."

She filled out the juror questionnaire with more answers than required, she said.

"Everything that I do, I try to be the best at it," she said. "I try to follow the instructions as well as possible."

A reporter's notes during the lawyers' interviews with potential jurors show Juror 17 disclosed her current husband had served time in prison before they met. She also disclosed details of her abusive relationship with her ex-husband, who was convicted of robbery.

Arias prosecutor Juan Martinez prosecuted her ex-husband 15 years ago. That connection emerged only on the morning the mistrial was declared.

Social media went wild with the conspiracy theory that Juror 17 spared Arias' life as way to get revenge against Martinez for putting her ex-husband behind bars.

"My struggles and my frustrations were always directed towards him," she said of her ex-husband. "It's preposterous to me to hold a grudge or to blame somebody for doing their job."

Juror 17 told me she didn't remember Martinez's name from her ex-husband's case.

"When I walked into the courtroom and I saw him for the initial jury selection, the only memory that I have of recognizing him is from TV — nothing beyond that, nothing past that," she said.

She then recalled a second Martinez sighting: "I saw him on a true-crime show for another case and I want to say it was a case where a wife stabbed her husband in his sleep."

When the new conspiracy theory involving Martinez and her ex-husband broke online, Juror 17 said she immediately texted the court bailiff.

"I gave all my information up front," she said she told the bailiff. "I didn't know the connection until now. Please let me know what I can do."

Suddenly, with jury deliberations done, she was getting phone calls, Twitter followers and friends on Facebook. Her name, which was supposed to be concealed, was everywhere.

She felt ambushed because of the apparent leak of her information and the after-the-fact disclosure of the Martinez connection.

"It was scary and upsetting for me to hear that," she said. "I gave you everything. Why is this coming up now?"