PERRYVILLE, Ariz. – FOX 10 has received an inside look at where Jodi Arias will be headed after her sentencing retrial is wrapped up.
Hours after learning her sentence, she will be taken to the Perryville Prison's Lumley Unit.
Her new cell will have a painted blue floor, a small bunk with a thin vinyl covered mattress, some shelves, and a porcelain sink and toilet. It's in the maximum security unit at Perryville Prison and life or death; it's where Arias will live.
"So it doesn't matter to her life or death, because the death row, there's so few women, only two of them, they are in the midst of where the maximum security inmates are housed," said Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan.
Arias will spend six hours a week in recreation time outdoors in a fenced in area. At first it has to be alone, and with death it will stay that way. Arias will be confined to her cell and receive her meals through a slot in the door.
But if Arias gets life in prison, her time at Perryville will improve fairly quickly.
After a month of perfect behavior, she is eligible to spend $80 a week in the prison store for food and supplies. She can eat breakfast and dinner in the dining area with other inmates, and get a job that pays her between 10 and 50 cents an hour. And she will be able to do origami and pencil drawing activities. Arias will also be able to attend group counseling sessions with 11 other inmates, but during those she will be locked in place.
"Their ankles are in cuffs; there is a slide bar over that, so they could not get out over the chair to try and attack or touch another inmate," he said.
The corrections staff at Perryville have been preparing for Arias' arrival by telling officers to keep a professional distance from her. They say they will be watching her and her interaction with other inmates very closely.
"This is a high-profile inmate, I think the concern about possible manipulation is legitimate and better to be forwarned than not," said Ryan.
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