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Capital punishment in Arizona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Arizona. 95 executions have been carried out since Arizona became a state in 1914 and there are currently 111 people on death row. In 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs and attorney general Kris Mayes ordered a temporary moratorium on executions pending a review of the State's protocols.

History

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Arizona abolished the death penalty by popular vote in 1916, but reinstated it, again by popular vote, in 1918.

No executions occurred between 1962 and the national moratorium in 1972.

In 2000, then-attorney general Janet Napolitano created a Capital Case Commission to study the State's capital punishment laws. The Commission issued a report in 2002, proposing changes to the "public defender’s office for capital cases, adjustments to laws and court rules, and minimum competency requirements."[1]

In 2007, due to the high number of pending capital cases after the election of Andrew Thomas as Maricopa County Attorney, Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor called for a review of the Death Penalty. The Arizona Supreme Court created the Capital Case Task Force.[2] The Court then established a Capital Case Oversight Committee.[3] The Committee studies "issues affecting the administration of capital cases and propose recommendations to improve the judicial administration of these cases."[4]

After the execution of Joseph Wood in 2014, executions were temporarily suspended but resumed in 2022.[5][6]

On January 23, 2023, newly inaugurated governor Katie Hobbs ordered a review of death penalty protocols and in light of that, newly inaugurated attorney general Kris Mayes issued a hold on any executions in the state.[7] Hobbs appointed retired Magistrate Judge David Duncan as the reviewer.[8]

In 2024, County Attorney Rachel Mitchell filed suit against Kris Mayes in an attempt to force the execution of Aaron Gunches.[9]

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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.[10]

The Governor of Arizona can grant clemency only with advice and consent of the five-member Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.[11]

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.

Capital crimes

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Certain aggravating circumstances constitute capital murder in the State of Arizona:[12]

  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.

Execution methods

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Hanging of Zack Booth in Globe, Arizona 1905

Arizona has used hanging, lethal gas, and lethal injection as its execution methods.

From Statehood until 1931, the primary execution method was hanging. Nineteen executions by hanging occurred between April 16, 1920 and June 20, 1931. The first gas execution occurred in 1934.[13]

Since capital punishment was resumed in 1976, 40 people in Arizona convicted of murder have been executed at Florence State Prison in Florence, Arizona.[14]

After the controversial and much-publicized 1992 execution of Donald Eugene Harding, who took 10 and 1/2 minutes to die, the voters changed the method to lethal injection.[15] However, inmates convicted for capital crimes committed prior to November 23, 1992 may choose gas inhalation instead.[16][17] The last gas execution was Walter LaGrand on March 3, 1999.

The 2014 botched execution of Joseph Wood lead to a moratorium of executions until July 2019.[17] The state switched drugs from Midazolam to Pentobarbital.[18][19]

The most recent execution in Arizona was that of Murray Hooper on November 16, 2022.[20]

Lethal injection drugs

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Since 1992, Arizona has employed lethal injection for its executions.[21]

Until 2010, Arizona used sodium thiopental as the primary drug in its execution protocol until the drug stopped being commercially available and the state explored using midazolam.[22]

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.[23]

In 2015, Arizona illegally tried to import sodium thiopental from India, but the shipment was seized by federal officials at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.[24]

In October 2019, Arizona's department of corrections paid $1.5m to a confidential source for 1,000 1g vials of pentobarbital.[25] In a 2024 episode of Last Week Tonight, comedian John Oliver claimed that Arizona had acquired the drugs from the Connecticut chemical company Absolute Standards.[26]

Notable capital cases

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Galindo, Erika (February 9, 2023). "Review is Not Enough: A Call for Death Penalty Abolition in Arizona". Law Journal for Social Justice. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  2. ^ Arizona Supreme Court Capital Case Task Force[
  3. ^ Court Order Establishing CCOC
  4. ^ Capital Case Oversight Committee
  5. ^ "Arizona halts executions after Joseph Wood case". BBC News. 25 July 2014.
  6. ^ Davenport, Paul; Billeaud, Jacques (May 11, 2022). "Clarence Dixon dies in Arizona's 1st execution since 2014". Associated Press. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Arizona executions are on hold until a review ordered by the governor is completed". NPR. 21 January 2023.
  8. ^ Associated Press (February 24, 2023). "Retired judge picked to review Arizona's execution process". 12News. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  9. ^ Fischer, Howard (July 24, 2024). "Maricopa prosecutor, AG spar over power to seek execution warrant". Tucson Star. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  10. ^ "§ 13-752 Sentences of death, life imprisonment or natural life; imposition; sentencing proceedings; definitions". Law.justia.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  11. ^ "Title 31 - Prisons and Prisoners". Azleg.gov. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  12. ^ "Capital Punishment in Arizona" (PDF). Azag.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  13. ^ "rizona Death Penalty History". AZDOC. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Last Meals Request". 10 June 2014.
  15. ^ The Associated Press (1992-04-25). "Gruesome Death in Gas Chamber Pushes Arizona Toward Injections". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  16. ^ "Methods of Execution". Clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  17. ^ a b Resnik, Brahm (2021-06-14) [2021-06-07]. "Arizona plans to use poisonous gas similar to Nazis' in executions. Here are 6 things to know". 12News. KPNX-TV. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  18. ^ https://apnews.com/article/---76b6c59853424c828aacf4828ad60884
  19. ^ https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/06/06/arizona-lethal-injection-protocol-charles-ryan-joseph-wood/371946001/
  20. ^ "Most Recent Executions". Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Arizona - Capital Punishment - Death Penalty". Deathpenalty.uslegal.com. 1992-11-23. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  22. ^ Kiefer, Michael (May 26, 2014). "Drug switch underscores Arizona's struggle with execution standards". AZCentral. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  23. ^ "London firm supplied drugs for US executions". the Guardian. 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  24. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/23/death-penalty-states-drugs-illegal-sodium-thiopental
  25. ^ "Revealed: Republican-led states secretly spending huge sums on execution drugs". the Guardian. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  26. ^ Loesch, Cailin (Apr 12, 2024). "CT Company Accused Of Secretly Making Lethal Injection Drugs: Reports". Patch. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
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