Ian Mitcham: Mistrial declared following shake up in jury

PHOENIX - A mistrial was declared for the sentencing in the case involving convicted murderer Ian Mitcham. Mitcham was found guilty in the 2015 murder and sexual assault of Allison Feldman.

What we know:

New developments have emerged in the Ian Mitcham murder trial after a judge declared a mistrial during the penalty phase of the proceedings.

Jury deliberations restarted on Wednesday after a juror was excused. 

Mistrial declared in Ian Mitcham case following jury shake up

A judge declared a mistrial in the penalty phase of the Ian Mitcham murder trial after the jury deadlocked over a life or death sentence after 90 minutes of deliberations. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has more on what this means moving forward. 

The life-or-death decision is back in the hands of the jury this morning, but with a twist. They will have to start over. One alternate juror is now joining 11 others. This change came down to a comment from the excused juror.

The juror was removed for sharing information told her about life in prison by her boyfriend. She even did homework on the issue, which jurors are not supposed to do. Jurors are required to deal strictly with the information offered in court and nothing else. Because of those actions, that juror was removed and an alternate was put in place.

Ian Mitcham and Allison Feldman

The jury sent a note to the judge after only 90 minutes of deliberations stating, "We have not reached a unanimous decision. And will will not reach a unanimous decision."

These are strong words from the jury debating a life or death sentence for Mitcham. Following the note, the judge told the jurors to get back at it and keep trying. However, that instruction presents a potential problem in and of itself because time is not supposed to be a factor during jury deliberations. The directive could lead to an appeal and could possibly be considered coercion by the judge.

Following the deadlock, the judge dismissed the panel, saying, "Your service is now completed and the admonition is lifted. I just want to emphasize we really do appreciate your service over the last seven months."

What they're saying:

Criminal defense attorney Benjamin Taylor spoke about the change.

"They can't do their own research on their phones. They can't ask their neighbors, they have to listen to the case and decide the case based on the facts they heard in the courtroom. If a juror does something outside of that and does their own research, they can get disqualified from the jury," Taylor said.

But now the clock starts over. The alternate juror has missed the prior two days of deliberations.

"Alternate jurors have been there from the very beginning. Even though they weren't there for the last couple of days during deliberations, they will be caught up to speed with the other jurors, and once they're caught up to speed, all the jurors would then deliberate on their own," Taylor said.

Ian Mitcham jury restarts deliberations in sentencing phase

A 12-person panel must start over to determine if Ian Mitcham will face life in prison or death after a juror was dismissed. FOX 10's Brian Webb and Trenton Hooker have more.

"Hung juries are very normal. It's hard to decide to give a person death or life, that's probably one of the hardest decisions a person will ever make," Taylor said.

Now, the parties must reconvene to decide when a new jury can begin its work. Taylor says this won't necessarily happen right away.

"You know, besides this case, usually the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys have other cases that are already set to go on the calendar this year and sometimes, this has been a long trial, so sometimes for the mental health, something defense attorneys and prosecutors just need a break," Taylor said.

If the prosecution decides to retry the case under a new jury, Taylor says that will be the final time Mitcham can be sent to death row.

"The prosecutor only has two bites of the apple. If they retry this case and if they get a hung jury again, then automatically under Arizona law, Ian Mitcham would get life," Taylor said.

Timeline:

This jury had been deliberating since last Thursday. Then, after the holiday, something was said that landed them in hot water with the judge. All 12 were called in one at a time to answer questions on May 26.

What's next:

The prosecution has the opportunity to redo the penalty phase with a brand-new jury that will need to go through all the evidence. If they get hung up, the judge decides.

Court resumes May 28, where Mitcham will be sentenced by the judge for the other two counts against him: burglary and sexual assault. A jury is not needed for those two counts.