The Utah Attorney General's Office announced Monday that the state will no longer pursue the death penalty for the convicted ax-killer.

Instead, prosecutors will concentrate on keeping the 70-year-old convict behind bars for the rest of his life.

On Friday, 3rd District Judge Leslie Lewis will formally sentence Tillman to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Tillman's fate will then be in the hands of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. Prosecutors said they will write letters, attend hearings and recommend that Tillman never be released.

The state's decision was influenced by the victim's family, who did not want to endure another capital murder sentencing trial, prosecutors said.

Even if Tillman was tried again and sentenced to death, prosecutors said he was likely to die during the lengthy appeals process before an execution could be carried out.

"We could go to court and a jury may again sentence Tillman to die, but practically speaking, it would gain nothing," Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said in a press release. "This cold-blooded killer deserves the strongest punishment possible, but the victims also deserve closure. We will fight to keep him in prison for the rest of his life."

Defense attorney Loni DeLand was out of town Monday and unavailable for comment.

Tillman was sentenced to die for the May 1982 slaying of 28-year-old Mark Schoenfeld. Tillman crept into the victim's Salt Lake City home, crushed the sleeping man's skull with an ax, then set his bed afire to destroy evidence.

Prosecutors said jealousy was Tillman's motive. Schoenfeld was dating a woman who had broken up with Tillman months earlier.

In 2001, Tillman was a month away from execution when prosecutors discovered a 51-page transcript of a lie-detector interview with Tillman's girlfriend and accomplice, Carla Sagers.

Sagers - who was given immunity from prosecution - laughed more than 60 times during the interview, and she failed to truthfully answer key questions about her own involvement in the murder.

Judge Lewis vacated Tillman's death sentence in January 2003, ruling that prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence.

Lewis said the transcript could have impacted Sagers' credibility and caused jurors to assign her greater culpability in the slaying. And that could have changed the sentencing outcome for Tillman.

Prosecutors argued the transcript would have made no difference to jurors. But in August, the Utah Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing, saying the transcript might have swayed the jury to spare Tillman's life.

That left prosecutors with the choice of staging another sentencing-phase trial or agreeing that Tillman should be sentenced to life in prison.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Kirk Torgensen said life without parole could not be mandated because that sentence did not exist at the time of the slaying, and Tillman was not willing to accept the possibility of no parole.

Schoenfeld's family has chosen not to speak publicly at this point, Torgensen said.

The Elroy Tillman file

l Tillman bludgeons 28-year-old Mark Schoenfeld with an ax at the victim's Salt Lake City home on May 26, 1982, then sets fire to the victim's bed.

l Tillman is convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in January 1983.

l Tillman gets an unexpected reprieve in June 2001 when his defense attorney suffers a heart attack during a commutation hearing. Tillman was scheduled to die on June 24 that year.

l Third District Judge Leslie Lewis on Jan. 24, 2003, vacates Tillman's death sentence, ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by withholding evidence.

l The Utah Supreme Court upholds Lewis' decision on Aug. 30 and orders a new sentencing trial for Tillman.

l The Utah Attorney General's Office on Monday announces it will not seek another sentencing trial, effectively removing Tillman from death row.