After months of hearing sexually explicit testimony, the jury in the Jodi Arias sentencing retrial is now tasked with deciding whether to sentence the convicted killer to life in prison or execution for the murder of her lover, Travis Alexander.

Prosecutors in the high profile case claim Arias killed her on-again off-again boyfriend during a jealous rage after he planned to leave her and go on a vacation with another woman. However, Arias argues that she killed him in self-defense after he attacked her.

According to medical examiners, Arias stabbed Alexander 27 times, primarily in the back, torso and heart in his Phoenix home. She also slit Alexander's throat from ear to ear, nearly decapitating him. In addition, she shot him in the face before dragging his bloodied corpse to the shower and taking pictures of him.

Although she was found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2013, jurors in her first trial failed to reach a unanimous decision on her sentencing. As a result, a Maricopa County Superior Court jury will deliberate whether or not to spare her life. If all 12 jurors don't agree to sentence her to death, then Arias will automatically be given life in prison. Or, if this second jury reaches deadlock, under state law Arias would be sentenced to life, reports AZ Central.

If for any reason, Arias is given life behind bars, then it will be up to Judge Sherry Stephens to decide whether Arias should or should not be eligible for release after 25 years.

Before jury deliberation began Wednesday afternoon, lead defense attorney Kirk Nurmi pleaded with jurors to spare the killer's life during his closing statement. Nurmi also presented the Phoenix jury with photos of Arias and Travis Alexander during the happier times in their relationship, reports The Associated Press.

Nurmi told jurors that Arias was the victim of abuse in her twisted relationship with Alexander, who he said sexually humiliated her.

"Why did we go from this sexual encounter to the killing?" Nurmi said. "Because of this tumultuous relationship. Because the emotional stress all this was bringing on."

Meanwhile, prosecutor Juan Martinez presented gruesome photos of Alexander's lifeless body and called Arias dishonest. He also questioned her claim of being remorseful and undercut the defense argument that she suffers from mental illness.

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