The jury in the Jodi Arias death penalty sentencing retrial will continue deliberating next week on whether to sentence the convicted killer to life in prison or execution for the murder of her lover, Travis Alexander.

That jury of eight women and four men did not reach a verdict on their first full day of deliberations on Thursday. As a result, they went home for the weekend and are set to resume on Monday, reports Reuters.

The panel of 14 jurors began the deliberation phase on Wednesday, after lawyers in the case delivered their closing statement.

Prosecutors in the high profile case claim Arias killed her on- and off-again boyfriend during a jealous rage after he planned to leave her and go on a vacation with another woman. However, Arias argues 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 do not agree on the death sentence, 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.

After sitting on the jury in Arias' original trial, Diane Schwartz says she knows how difficult it is to deliver a decision in a death penalty case.

"It was a job we had to do and we couldn't get it done," Schwartz told CBS 5. "When you are an individual that likes your job, and works hard at it, and we failed or couldn't get it done -- it impacts you -- and that's exactly what it did to me."

She also said she voted to sentence the 34-year-old former waitress to death back in 2013, and that she is hoping the new jury does the same.

"Jodi Arias scares me -- she really scares me. I think that if Jodi had gotten away with this, it could have easily happened again," said Schwartz.

"I would like to see the death penalty, however, what I've learned in the process is that while I support the death penalty, and I want it to happen, I know how hard it is."

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