AMERICAN FORK — A possible death sentence has been taken off the table in the case of accused killer Martin Bond.

In what was supposed to be a simple scheduling hearing Tuesday afternoon the defense and prosecution came to an agreement that the charges would be amended from aggravated murder as a capital offense to aggravated murder as a first-degree felony. In exchange for the prosecution removing the death penalty Bond agreed to accept a sentence of life without parole should he be convicted on the murder charge.

The defense and prosecution first tried to make the deal without changing the murder charge but after reviewing case law and discussing the matter with 4th District Judge Thomas Low they made the decision to downgrade the murder charge.

Low explained to Bond that the result was the same but the procedure for getting there was a little different.

Prosecuting attorney Tim Taylor said they had made a similar offer several months ago but wanted Bond to plead guilty in exchange for taking the death sentence out of the equation.

“It is a twist in this case,” Taylor said. “He is not pleading guilty and we are still going to trial but in exchange for taking the death sentence off the table Bond will not argue for life with parole if he is convicted.”

Taylor said during the hearing that he had contacted the family members of Kay Mortensen, the man Bond is accused of killing, and that they were OK with the agreement.

Defense attorney Rudy Bautista said the deal brings a sort of finality to the case. He said that had they gone forward with a possible death sentence the trial would have needed to be delayed more than six months. He said preparing for a trial in which a death sentence is involved takes massive amounts of time because the defendant’s life history is explored.

“We would have to look at medical records and school records and in this case military records and interview military leaders and teachers and family,” Bautista said. “Without the death sentence the need to do that goes away.”

Due to changes in the murder charge the trial has been shortened. The trial was originally scheduled to run for 12 days but has now been shortened to eight. Bautista said in a death sentence case there would be days and days of testimony speaking to the defendant’s character and that expert witnesses like psychologists would be called in, but there is no longer a need for that.

“We are very pleased. This allows the jury to focus on issues of guilt and innocence without the heavy burden of a death sentence playing a factor in their decision making,” Bautista said.

Prior to Tuesday’s hearing the defense had filed 41 motions on Bond’s behalf, most of them questioning the legality of the death sentence in the case, but Bautista said most of those motions are now moot. A few of the motions regarding evidence will go forward.

It also was decided during the hearing that the jury for the trial would be selected from a pool of 80 potential jurors.

Bond is facing four counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies. He is accused of slitting Mortensen’s throat during a November 2009 robbery. Prosecutors initially suspected Mortensen’s son and daughter-in-law, Roger and Pamela Mortensen. The two were arrested and spent several months in jail while the case was investigated. A tip later implicated Bond and Benjamin Rettig, who pleaded guilty in June 2011 and is serving a minimum 25-year prison sentence.

Bond will next be in court for oral arguments on Dec. 18. The jury trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 14.