After nearly 16 hours of deliberations, the jury in the Steven Hayes
penalty phase has still not made its decision.

Jurors will return to the New Haven Superior Courthouse this morning
for a fourth day of deliberations to decide if Steven Hayes will get
life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death
penalty.  Hayes was found guilty last month of killing Jennifer
Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 11-year old Michaela, and 17-year
old Hayley in a Cheshire, Connecticut home invasion that has been
described by prosecutors as horrific, shocking, brutal and vicious.
The panel of 7 women and 5 men deliberated Saturday and Sunday in a
rare weekend session, and seem to be conflicted about Hayes mental
capacity at the time of the crimes.   Jurors must all agree on the
issue before they can move on to the next step in their deliberations,
but have indicated that there may be a split in votes through notes
sent to the judge.    Jurors have also asked for read back of
testimony of a key defense witness, Dr. Eric Goldsmith, who was on the
stand during the penalty phase to talk about his interview with Hayes
after the home invasion.

Goldsmith says Hayes became enraged during the home invasion when his accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky falsely told him that he had killed the Petit sisters.  Komisarjevsky will go on trial next year.

Jurors will begin deliberations at 10:00a.m. this morning.