Jodi Arias' will unlikely die by lethal injection, even if she is found guilty of murder, said a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney that does not represent her.

As the prosecution in Arias' murder trial is fighting to ensure that she becomes the fourth woman in Arizona's history to be sent to death row for the horrific murder of her lover Travis Alexander, a legal defense expert is confident that even if she is charged, she will not receive capital punishment because she lacks a criminal record.

"She has no criminal past," Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Dana Cole told Radar Online. "Normally we like to reserve the death penalty for really the worst of the worst - it is unlikely."

While Cole agrees that the crime "was a very vicious attack" and that the "sheer viciousness could in fact warrant the death penalty," he explained that Arias' "lack of criminal record" will make it "unlikely" she will receive the death penalty.

"It is very rare unless the defendant is a really hated person, and to warrant such deep hatred they really would have had to have lived a life of crime," Cole added.

Arias, 32, is on trial for the murder of Alexander, 30. According to prosecution, Arias shot Alexander in the face, stabbed him 27 times and slit his throat from ear to ear in his Mesa, Arizona home in June 2008.

Cole explained that the crime appeared to be more of a "great act of passion."

"She appears to be a prolific liar and she can't keep her facts straight, but that still wouldn't really qualify her for execution for her first offense, no matter how gruesome the crime."

CBS recently aired a 2008 interview with Arias on Jan. 18. Arias spoke with reporter Maureen Maher for the CBS special "48 Hours' Picture Perfect: The Trial of Jodi Arias." Arias gave "48 Hours" the same fictional account she told local police at the time - that a home invasion with two men resulted in Alexander's murder. She claimed two people dressed in black armed with a knife and a gun attacked Alexander shortly after the couple had a steamy encounter in his home. Arias said Alexander was stabbed and left on the floor when she bolted the house. She said she never told anyone about the incident because she was sure he was alive when she fled the crime scene.

"It was the scariest experience of my life," Arias told "48 Hours" in the interview of the fictional attack. "It was just so unreal. It was like a movie unfolding. Like a horrible movie."

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys intend to use the footage of Arias' fictional account from the "48 Hours" interview as evidence when the trial resumes on Jan. 29. at 8 a.m. PST. / 5 a.m. EST.

Arias' attorneys revealed that they will argue that she killed Travis out of self-defense because her then lover was a controlling "sexual deviant."

Watch the trial live here below.

Tags: Jodi Arias Travis Alexander