Arizona Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal of Arias sentencing issue

PHOENIX, May 30 (UPI) -- Arizona's highest court has rejected an appeal by Jodi Arias' lawyers, who say prosecutors wrongly changed factors under which she could be sentenced to death.

Under state law, the aggravating factors for which jurors can sentence defendants to death must be decided by the judge before the case goes to trial, the Arizona Republic reported Wednesday.

A trial judge decided in 2009 one of those factors existed when she ruled the murder was committed in an especially cruel manner after a police detective testified Arias' boyfriend, Travis Alexander, had been shot before being stabbed and his throat slit.

Before trial began, a new judge allowed prosecutor Juan Martinez to change his theory of the crime. He then claimed Arias stabbed her boyfriend first, then cut his throat and shot him in the head.

Arias was found guilty May 8 of first-degree murder. The jury determined the crime had been committed in a cruel manner but was unable to decide if she should receive the death penalty.

If a new jury sentences Arias to life in prison, the issue would be moot but could be raised again on appeal if she is sentenced to death.