A person who represents himself has a fool for a client.

Amidst insistent objections from her defense lawyers, Jodi Arias adamantly stood by her decision to defend herself in the death penalty sentencing retrial set to begin in September.

Judge Sherry Stephens, an Arizona judge, granted Monday Arias' request to stand as her own defendant for the sentencing retrial. The retrial will determine whether the convicted murdered will be penalized with death or lifetime imprisonment.   

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However, the judge's approval did not come without a warning.

"I do not believe it is in your best interest ... I strongly urge you to reconsider," Judge Stephens advised Arias.

The reluctance of the judge is rooted from the fact that Arias has no legal experience, college degree, or high school diploma.

Spokesman Vincent Funari disclosed that prior to giving her decision during the hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court, Judge Sherry questioned whether Arias was taking prescription drugs. To this question, the former California waitress answered in the affirmative.

Nonetheless, Arias stood firm on her stand and assured the wary judge that the prescription drugs had no effect on her judgment.

Mixed reactions were gathered from those in the legal profession.

San Francisco-area defense lawyer Daniel Horowitz commented, "It's actually probably a good idea to represent herself."

"If she can get just one juror to bond with her on some level, even if they hate her, they're getting to know her, and it's harder to kill someone you know," he added.

Another defense attorney from Phoenix, as well as former Maricopa County judge and federal prosecutor, Mel McDonald, agree with Horowitz.

McDonald subscribed to the belief that Arias had nothing left to lose.

"I think generally that anybody that represents themselves has a fool for a client, but it also gives her a way, if she's out there making a fool of herself, to maybe invoke some sympathy from a juror," McDonald explained.

Arias, 34, was convicted for the gruesome murder of her boyfriend Travis Alexander in 2008. The victim was slain in his Phoenix home, in which his bloody corpse was found in the shower. Alexander was reported to have been stabbed approximately 30 times, his throat slit, and shot in the head.

TagsJodi Arias, Travis Alexander, Murder, Daniel Horowitz, Mel McDonald