Judge Brian Hauser of Maricopa County Superior Court,...

Judge Brian Hauser of Maricopa County Superior Court, who imposed the death penalty on Efren Medina, has changed his mind and ordered that he be resentenced. Judge Hauser said in court documents that new evidence of Medina's history of mental illness made him question his May 16, 1996, decision to condemn him to death. Hauser said he was swayed by evidence provided by Alan Simpson, Medina's new attorney, that the defendant suffers from a lingering delusional disorder that may have made him believe he was being threatened by then 71-year-old Carle Hodge, the former Republic science writer. "The victim obviously was no real threat to the defendant," Hauser wrote, "but the new evidence may tend to support an argument that defendant's capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was significantly impaired." Medina was 18 in 1993 when he beat and stomped Hodge, then dragged him into the street and ran over him. Hauser set a Dec. 12 hearing to set a resentencing schedule. Under the state's new death-penalty law, a jury will decide whether Medina will live or die. If the jury does not condemn Medina a 2nd time, Hauser could sentence him to natural life or 25 years to life, Simpson said.