(CBS) MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - On Thursday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens released more than 400 jury questions posed during the Jodi Arias trial, including those she refused to read in open court, reported the Arizona Republic. PICTURES: Jodi Arias pleads with jurors for a life sentence
According to the paper, one of the questions from an anonymous juror asked Arias - now a convicted killer - to define her understanding of the word "skank." Another question from a juror asked the defendant if she ever had pets as a child and if so, if she ever intentionally hurt a pet or an animal. READ: Jodi Arias: A timeline of a sensational murder case
Arias's journals were a focus throughout the trial, according to the Arizona Republic. She claimed her slain boyfriend, Travis Alexander, had asked her not to write about any negative experiences she had. This prompted one juror to write a question, released in the newly unsealed files, asking if she felt the "Mormon religion encourages burying the truth about issues that may be considered embarrassing?," according to the paper. The Republic reported that on May 30, Stephens ordered that much of the trial information, such as secret conversations, notes and transcripts, be released to the public. Court staff is working on making this information public, said the paper.
The judge has ordered that some of the most controversial material from the trial, including sidebar hearings where witnesses or jurors were present, remains sealed, though, said the Republic. These closed-door hearings were apparently about death threats against witnesses and attorneys, and the reasons behind the dismissal of three jurors, reported the paper. Arias was convicted of murder for the 2008 stabbing and shooting death of Alexander. A new sentencing jury is to be empaneled next month after the trial jury could not reach a unanimous decision about either a death sentence, or life in prison.
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