(Update: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Supreme Court ended a standoff over the execution of Aaron Gunches on Wednesday, after this story was posted. The Court issued an order stating that its role, according to a state statute, is to “issue a warrant of execution that authorizes the director of the state department of corrections to carry out the execution.” Since it authorizes, but doesn’t mandate, Gov. Hobbs does have the authority to let Gunches’ execution warrant expire, and he will not be executed on April 6. You can read the events leading up to the Court’s order below.)
In January, as a result of Arizona’s recent history of botched lethal injection executions, Hobbs ordered an independent review of the state’s execution procedures and protocols with a final report and recommendations to be made to her and the attorney general.
Attorney General Kristin K. Mayes followed Hobbs’ order with a motion to withdraw the state’s execution warrant for Gunches, who had asked to be executed in November but changed his mind in January. Mayes stated at the time that all executions will be on hold indefinitely while the investigation is ongoing, noting that “it is vital…to ensure that every safeguard is observed.”
The state Supreme Court responded by scheduling Gunches’ execution for April 6, stating there was no evidence of the “state’s inability to lawfully carry out the execution.”
Hobbs’ response was that she would allow the execution warrant to expire.
“The Court’s decision order and warrant make clear. . .that the warrant authorizes an execution and does not require it,” Hobbs said in a statement, 12 News reported. “This is consistent with the law and separation of powers between the judicial and executive branches on this most serious exercise of the power of the State,” she said.
But Arizona Voice for Crime Victims, representing Gunches’ victim’s sister, filed a petition with the Court arguing that the governor is legally bound to let the execution go forward, 12 News reports. That petition is supported by Republican County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who filed an amicus brief saying, “No law allows the governor to unilaterally suspend executions,” according to 12 News.
Gunches was sentenced to death in 2004 for the 2002 killing of Ted Price. He pled guilty to kidnapping and first-degree murder, did not appeal his conviction, and waived his right to counsel. And in November, the Arizona Republic reported, he asked the court to issue a death warrant “so that justice may be lawfully served and give closure to the victim’s family.”
But he changed his mind in January and filed a motion to withdraw his request, setting off a legal battle between the executive and judicial branches of state government.
