DENVER -- A woman convicted of murder in connection with the slaying of a Denver police officer is getting a new trial.

Lisl Auman Pleads Guilty Discuss Case Site For Auman Supporters

Lisl Auman has already served close to seven years for the killing of officer Bruce VanderJagt but Auman's attorneys say her sentence of life in prison is too harsh. Auman was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car when Vanderjagt was shot and killed in November 1997.

Auman's attorneys and family say she is being punished for a murder she didn't commit and that a new trial gives them new hope.

Her family say it's another chance to convince a jury that the 29-year-old doesn't deserve to spend her entire life in prison even though she was there when a Denver police officer was killed. The Colorado Supreme Court overturned Auman's 1998 conviction in March because of faulty jury instructions.

Auman appeared in a Denver courtroom shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday wearing the tan colored prison suit she has worn for the past seven years. It was one of the first of several hearings leading up to a new trial.

The judge set her new trial date for Aug. 22 and scheduled a hearing June 21 to consider a defense request for bond.

Auman was with a man by the name of Mattheus Jaehnig in November 1997 when they were chased by police after breaking into an Auman's ex-boyfriend's apartment. She said she had just wanted to get some of her belongings.

Auman and Jaehnig were cornered by police and Auman surrendered. She was then put in handcuffs and placed in the back seat of a police car. She was in the car when Jaehnig shot and killed the officer and then killed himself. Because she was part of the original crime and allegedly failed to help police with information at the scene, she was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison.

With a bond hearing set, there is a possibility that Auman could be released before the trial. However, a spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney said a felony murder charge usually doesn't allow for bond.

There is also the possibility that the district attorney office may work a plea deal in the case for time already served. However, 7NEWS has learned that no such negotiations on that are under way and those possibilities are very slim.

Auman's case caught the nation's attention after celebrities including Hunter S. Thompson and Warren Zevon rallied for her freedom. They and other supporters questioned the fairness of the felony murder law that sent her to prison for life with no chance of parole.

The state Supreme Court, however, upheld the felony murder statute, under which anybody involved in certain felonies is guilty of murder if somebody is killed during the crime or flight from it.

Even after she was placed in custody, Auman never told officers that Jaehnig was armed or where he was hiding.

District Attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said the judge approved a request by defense lawyers to keep Auman in the Denver County jail rather than return her to a women's prison.

A motions hearing was set for July 11 and a pretial conference for Aug. 2.