Gov. Hobbs, Attorney General Mayes pause death penalty in Arizona pending review process
Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the establishment of a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner on Friday, and Attorney General Kris Mayes filed to withdraw a motion for the only pending death warrant, effectively pausing executions in Arizona.
In a statement, Hobbs said the commissioner would be tasked with "reviewing and providing transparency into the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, & Reentry (ADCRR) lethal injection drug and gas chamber chemical procurement process, execution protocols, and staffing considerations including training and experience."
Hobbs said the commissioner will then issue a final report that includes recommendations on improving the transparency, accountability, and safety of the execution process.
“With the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry now under new leadership, it’s time to address the fact that this is a system that needs better oversight on numerous fronts,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs announced Tuesday she had picked Ryan Thornell, deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, to take over Arizona’s troubled prison system.
On Friday, Hobbs went further.
“Arizona has a history of mismanaged executions that have resulted in serious questions and concerns about ADCRR’s execution protocols and lack of transparency. I’m confident that under Director Thornell, ADCRR will take this executive action seriously," Hobbs said. "If the state of Arizona is executing people in the name of Arizonans, Arizonans deserve transparency around that process."
Hobbs created the position by executive order, which says the commissioner shall not be currently or previously employed with the Arizona prison system and must have experience with the death penalty or lethal injection issues. Hobbs said Thornell will not be the commissioner. The governor declined repeated requests to state where she stands on Arizona's death penalty, saying it is irrelevant to the review she is seeking.
A spokesperson for Hobbs said the selection process for the commissioner was underway. There was no immediate indication Friday how long it would take to find a commissioner, nor how long their review of Arizona's executions would take.
Read the statement:Gov. Katie Hobbs' executive order establishing a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner
The announcements were met with mixed responses. Defense lawyers and civil rights advocates praised Hobbs' and Mayes' actions, while victims' rights advocates denounced them.
Former Gov. Doug Ducey and former Attorney General Mark Brnovich resumed executions in Arizona in 2022, carrying out the lethal injections of death row prisoners Clarence Dixon, Frank Atwood, and Murray Hooper.
Death row prisoner Aaron Gunches had filed a motion in November asking the Arizona Supreme Court to issue a death warrant, "so that justice may be lawfully served and give closure to the victim's family."
But Gunches reversed his decision.
He was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of Ted Price, a former longtime boyfriend of Gunches' girlfriend. Gunches kidnapped and shot Price multiple times in a desert area off the Beeline Highway.
Gunches pled guilty to kidnapping and first-degree murder in 2004, and he has consistently waived his right to counsel, mitigation and post-conviction litigation.
Brnovich responded with his own request for Gunches' execution warrant.
But Gunches filed another motion in January, telling the state Supreme Court he had changed his mind after reading an Arizona Republic article quoting then-candidate Mayes, who said, "We need to take some time to assess how the death penalty has worked, and make sure that this is done legally and correctly."
Gunches told the state Supreme Court he would not have filed his previous motion requesting the warrant, "had he known this stunning news, and now seeks to withdraw."
Gunches also pointed to the three executions in 2022 where Arizona Department of Corrections execution team members struggled to insert IV lines during the lethal injection process.
On Friday, Mayes picked up on that idea.
"My predecessor's administration sought a warrant of execution for Mr. Gunches after he initiated the proceedings himself," Mayes said. "These circumstances have now changed."
Mayes said Gunches' request is not the only reason she was requesting the previous motion be withdrawn.
"A thorough review of Arizona's protocols and processes governing capital punishment is needed," Mayes said. "I applaud Governor Hobbs for establishing a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner to begin that process.”
Arizona's death row: These are the prisoners facing execution
Mayes pointed to other states and the federal government, which are also reviewing their use of the death penalty. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey halted all executions in the state in November after two botched lethal injections, calling for a “top-to-bottom” review of the process.
“If Arizona is going to execute individuals, it should have a system for doing so that is transparent, accountable, and carried out in a manner faithful to our constitution and the rule of law,” Mayes said. "I look forward to working with the governor, the newly established commissioner, and others to ensure the public's confidence in Arizona's capital punishment system."
Critics of the death penalty say an investigation of executions in Arizona is a long time coming.
Former assistant federal public defender Dale Baich has represented people on death row for 34 years. He said Hobbs and Mayes should be commended for taking the matter seriously.
"For over a decade, ADCRR has encountered difficulties in implementing the death penalty, specifically IV access and issues related to the drugs used to carry out executions," Baich said. "The problems are complex and nuanced, and concern not only the law, but public policy as well. Governor Hobbs and Attorney General Mayes should be commended for taking these matters seriously and moving forward to study the issues with the death penalty they identified.”
Joseph Perkovich, an attorney who represented death row prisoner Frank Atwood, praised the executive order from Hobbs for placing a premium on the public interest.
"Getting to the bottom of the procurement of the drugs, the sourcing, their composition and expiration − that is really critical," Perkovich said. "Historically, the opacity and the confused information put forward by the state has left a lot to be desired."
The executions of Dixon and Atwood were initially pushed back after the state was forced to revise its estimate of the shelf life of its lethal injection drugs.
"The ability to meaningfully assess what the state is doing in the people's name is a very important step in the right direction," Perkovich said.
Therese Day, chief of the Capital Habeas Unit at the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Arizona, called the governor’s appointment of an independent commissioner to review Arizona’s execution procedures "an important step to ensuring that executions are carried out in a legal, constitutional, and transparent manner.”
But advocates for victims' rights said continued delays in the completion of death sentences were nothing short of a denial of justice.
Karen Price, Ted Price's sister, wants the execution to move forward. Price argued in a court filing that she has a constitutional right "to a prompt and final conclusion of the case."
In a motion filed in response to Gunches' motion to withdraw his request for a death warrant, Arizona Voice For Crime Victims attorney Colleen Clase said Gunches "callously" ended Ted Price's life, causing his family "more than two decades of emotional pain as well as a longing for an end of the criminal process."
Clase said the Price family was devastated by the decision to withdraw the motion for Gunches' death warrant, as well as the announcement of a review by the governor.
"The guarantee of a prompt and final conclusion of a case after conviction and sentence continues to be an unfulfilled promise for far too many victims," Clase said. "Today's executive order will add to the unconstitutional delays victims regularly encounter and exacerbate the traumatic impact of these delays."
There are 110 prisoners on Arizona’s death row. Of those, 21 have exhausted their appeals.
Have a news tip on Arizona prisons? Reach the reporter at jjenkins@arizonarepublic.com or at 812-243-5582. Follow him on Twitter @JimmyJenkins.
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