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Capital punishment in Arizona

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Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Arizona. After the execution of Joseph Wood in 2014, executions were temporarily suspended.[1]

When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous.

In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a retrial happens before another jury. If the second jury is also deadlocked, a life sentence is issued.[2]

The Governor of Arizona can grant clemency only with advice and consent of the five-member Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.[3]

Capital crimes

The following aggravating circumstances constitute capital murder in the State of Arizona:[4]

  1. prior conviction for which a sentence of life imprisonment or death was imposable;
  2. prior serious offense involving the use of threat or violence;
  3. grave risk of death to others;
  4. procurement of murder by payment or promise of payment;
  5. commission of murder for pecuniary gain;
  6. murder committed in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner;
  7. murder committed while in custody;
  8. multiple homicides;
  9. murder of a victim under 15 years of age or of a victim 70 years of age or older; and
  10. murder of a law enforcement officer.

Executions and death row

The method of execution employed in Arizona is lethal injection.[5] However, if convicted for a crime committed prior to November 23, 1992, the inmate may choose gas inhalation instead.[6]

Arizona's death row for males is located at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Florence in Florence. Female death row prisoners are housed at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville in Goodyear.

Since capital punishment was resumed in 1976, 37 individuals in Arizona were convicted of murder and have been executed at Florence State Prison in Florence, Arizona.[7]

In October 2019 Arizona's department of corrections paid $1.5m to a confidential source for 1,000 1g vials of pentobarbital sodium salt, a sedative used in the state's executions. US doctors are not permitted to prescribe the drug for executions, as taking a life does not serve a therapeutic purpose, so Arizona has to find suppliers willing to sell drugs without prescription.[8]

In 2011 the state was found to be lawfully buying execution drugs from Dream Pharma, a pharmaceutical company operating out of a driving school in west London, UK.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28444667
  2. ^ "§ 13-752 Sentences of death, life imprisonment or natural life; imposition; sentencing proceedings; definitions". Law.justia.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "Title 31 - Prisons and Prisoners". Azleg.gov. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "Capital Punishment in Arizona" (PDF). Azag.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  5. ^ "Arizona - Capital Punishment - Death Penalty". Deathpenalty.uslegal.com. 1992-11-23. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  6. ^ "Methods of Execution". Clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ "Revealed: Republican-led states secretly spending huge sums on execution drugs". the Guardian. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  9. ^ "London firm supplied drugs for US executions". the Guardian. 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
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