The defense, on the other hand, attempted to present the mitigating circumstances of post-traumatic stress disorder and battered woman syndrome, according to which Alexander had physically abused and emotionally towards Arias and that he felt he had no choice, for fear of his own safety, and killed him in self-defense. However, for BWS to be a valid defense, the woman had to be in a situation where she was currently threatened by her attacker and had to take action at that time. In the Arias case, Alexander was simply in the shower, while Arias went to the extreme and surprised him with multiple stab wounds, slitting his throat and shooting him in the head, making the WBS a ridiculous justification. On May 15, 2013, the aggravation phase began to determine how cruel and heinous the crime was to warrant the death penalty. The prosecution showed the court all the pictures of the crime scene and within three hours the jury determined that Arias was suitable for the murder.