Jodi Arias, convicted in 2013 of the 2008 murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, remains behind bars at Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville, where she is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. More than a decade after her headline-dominating trial, Arias has stayed active from prison — running a Substack blog called “Just Jodi,” selling artwork through her personal website and, most recently, publicly announcing plans to hire new attorneys as she pursues a challenge to her conviction.
Everything to know about Arias’ life in prison, below.
Jodi Arias Is Serving Life Without Parole at an Arizona Prison
Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2013 following the 2008 killing of Alexander. Prosecutors said she stabbed him nearly 30 times, slashed his throat and shot him in the head. She was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison without the possibility of parole and has remained at Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville ever since.
Despite the conviction, Arias has continued to insist she is innocent of first-degree murder, maintaining that she killed Alexander in self-defense.
Jodi Arias Is Selling Patriotic Art From Prison
In a June 30, 2026, post on her Substack, Arias revealed she was selling a new piece of patriotic artwork timed to the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“Sometimes, inspiration strikes when I’m in the middle of another project so it has to wait. Sometimes, I’ll push off my new idea for so long that the inspiration for it packs its bags and leaves,” she wrote. “This doesn’t slow me down, though, because the muse presents me with an endless stream of more ideas than I’ll ever be able to create in one lifetime.”
Arias said the concept had been on her mind for years before she finally completed it.
“In 2024, I was inspired to draw a beautiful Hispanic woman draped in an American flag. I imagined having it all ready to go for the Fourth of July, but time got away from me. The holiday came and went and I decided to work on other things. The following year, the same thing happened,” she wrote. “This year, I finally did it, which worked out poetically because of the 250th anniversary of the United States. I named it Americana.”
She then shared a photo of the finished piece — a brunette woman posing with an American flag draped around her shoulders as fireworks burst behind her.
“While the beautiful woman I drew turned out looking a bit more like Melania’s cousin than a Hispanic woman, her dignified, resolute posture is everything I was going for when I first caught the vision of her,” Arias continued. “She appears strong, vibrant and resilient—all the things I imagine myself to be on a good day.”
The piece, drawn on heavy-stock paper and measuring 11×14 inches, is available for purchase on JodiArias.com.
Jodi Arias Claims the Government Has Made ‘Attempts to Kill’ Her
In the same Substack post, Arias offered a glimpse into her current view of the U.S. government — one that mixes patriotism with grievance.
“Despite my government’s multiple depraved attempts to kill me in years past, I’m not immune to warm patriotic feelings. Also, 250 years is something to be celebrated,” she wrote. “I’ve been immersed in the spirit of patriotism more this year because these vibes were repeatedly invoked during my tens of hours spent working on Americana.”
She closed the post with a personal memory about her brother learning “Grand Old Flag” for a first grade school assembly.
“He practiced over and over, which helped me learn the song, too,” she said. “This year, I couldn’t help singing it while I decorated the library in red, white, and blue. Happy 250th, America!”
Jodi Arias Is Seeking New Lawyers to Challenge Her Conviction
Arias’s activity extends well beyond her art. In a January 2026 post on her “Just Jodi” blog, she signaled a major shift in her legal strategy.
The post opened with pointed criticism of Steve Flores, the lead detective in her case, and Juan Martinez, the former prosecutor from her trial, according to Arizona Family.
“Important, exculpatory evidence in my case has been lost or destroyed. Where is my proof? I’m working on that. My lawyers yawn when I explain this. After all, I’m just the mentally ill woman they have to entertain for half an hour by phone every few weeks, after which time they bill the county,” she wrote.
She continued, “Detective Flores or some other henchman acting at Juan’s behest likely destroyed or disappeared this exculpatory evidence. Maybe one of them will gain a conscience and admit to their tampering.”
Arias also described a recent falling-out with one of her attorneys.
“Once again, an attorney has violated my confidence and shattered the trust I placed in them. Over the years, I’ve helped enrich this person with a lot of my money, and happily so because they were amazing at their craft and I benefited. Recently, however, they used intel I shared with them against me, then avoided my calls to avoid having to explain themselves,” she wrote. “I’m stunned by this betrayal and mourning the end of this relationship.”
She said she has consulted “eighteen lawyers” about her case.
“There is a theme in my life of being manipulated, exploited, abused and deceived by attorneys,” she said. “I have learned the painful way that they will, despite their oaths, put the interests of others above their client’s, and that they should never be completely trusted.”
Jodi Arias Wants to Move Toward Habeas Corpus Proceedings
Arias said her next hires will not focus on post-conviction relief but will instead prepare her for a potential habeas corpus challenge — a legal process in which authorities must justify a person’s imprisonment, typically pursued after other conviction challenges fail.
“I’m going to hire more attorneys,” she said. “This is not a Will I, won’t I?, like my April memoir. This is a definite, immediate move I’m making while the January calendar is still in single digits. These attorneys won’t be for PCR. Rather, they will act as advisors with an eye towards habeas.”
She expressed frustration that her post-conviction relief stage has stalled.
“Based on how this case has languished for five years since entering the PCR stage, based on how much progress has not been made, and based on all the investigation in these past five years that has not been done, I have plenty of cold, anxiety-inducing reasons to believe that this stage will indeed fail,” Arias said.
“For five years, PCR has been a watched pot that I’m beginning to realize will never boil,” she concluded. “I have been naive to approach it the way I approached my case during the pretrial phase, which has been to let attorneys who didn’t care as much as I do (through no fault of their own—nobody can care as much as I do) take the wheel while I buckle up and cruise through it, hoping to reach Destination Freedom.”
Arias has not moved forward with the proceedings as of time of publication.
During her 2013 trial, Arias admitted to killing Alexander but claimed she acted in self-defense.
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
