With Jodi Arias, it has been antic after antic throughout her highly publicized trial.

Is she mentally unstable or was it all one elaborate attempt to get away with murder?

This was the question on the minds of many onlookers, especially after her rather bizarre attempt to get a restraining order against Nancy Grace of all people.

If it was a sincere demonstration of someone not responsible for her own actions, then Arias failed to move the trial jury.

She was found guilty of first-degree murder last year.

That jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision as to whether or not the 34-year-old should be put to death.

The prosecution decided to pose to question to a new jury.

For Arias, this may be her last chance to save herself from the death penalty. The controversial figure is figuratively putting her own life in her hands.

It was announced on Monday that a judge had accepted Arias’s request to represent herself during the sentencing phase of her trial.

Given her previously erratic behaviors, some consider it a masterstroke by the defendant.

Jodi Arias representing herself in court – a tragic mistake or a brilliant plan? Join the conversation on @HLNTV pic.twitter.com/hkLTwDoYJC

— Jane Velez-Mitchell (@JVM) August 5, 2014

Daniel Horowitz, a defense attorney based in San Francisco, told the Associated Press that it was “probably a good idea [for Arias] to represent herself”.

According to Horowitz, Arias “looks like a vicious psychopath with a ridiculous defense” and the jurors “may find her pathetic”.

“If she can get just one juror to bond with her on some level,” said Horowitz, “[then] they’re getting to know her, and it’s harder to kill someone you know.”

This may be easier said than done.

Arias has quite possibly established herself as a calculating and manipulative personality who killed in cold blood and is not to be trusted. If this is the sentiment of the jurors going into the sentencing, then getting any members of the jury to bond with her could prove difficult.

#JodiArias' new sentencing phase is scheduled to begin in September. Here's an update: http://t.co/LsbVhcwYx3 pic.twitter.com/TDZlQ3boIr

— HLN (@HLNTV) August 1, 2014

The question now becomes whether or not Arias has enough scruples to erase the narrative created during the first part of her trial and start over.

Image via YouTube