Jodi Arias asked jurors today to give her life in prison, arguing she "lacked perspective" when she told a local reporter in an interview after she was convicted of murder that she preferred execution to spending the rest of her days in jail.
Standing confidently but at times her voice breaking, she told the same eight men and four women who found her guilty of first-degree murder that she planned to use her time in prison to bring about positive changes, including donating her hair to be made into wigs for cancer victims, helping recycle trash and designing T-shirts that would raise money for victims of domestic abuse.
Arias admitted killing boyfriend Travis Alexander and said it was the "worst thing" she had ever done. But she stuck to her story that the brutal attack - which included stabbing Alexander more than 30 times, shooting him in the head and nearly decapitating him - was her defense against abuse.
Her testimony came a day after her attorneys asked to be removed from the case because the five-month trial had become a witch hunt that prompted death threats against a key witness in the penalty phase of the trial. They also argued for a mistrial. The judge denied both requests.
Arias acknowledged the pain and suffering she caused Alexander's family, and said she hoped her conviction brought them peace.