Ian Mitcham: Jury restarts sentencing deliberations after juror excused

PHOENIX - Jury deliberations are starting over on Wednesday for the sentencing of convicted murderer Ian Mitcham after a juror was excused.

Mitcham was found guilty in the 2015 murder and sexual assault of Allison Feldman.

What we know:

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.

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 yesterday. Apparently, the judge did not like what they had to say.

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.

What's next:

All 12 have to reach a unanimous decision of life in prison or death. If they do not, that is considered a hung jury. In that case, a brand-new jury will do it again and go through all the evidence. If they get hung up, the judge decides.