PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday denied rescheduling an originally scheduled execution this week. seemed unlikely to be executed After Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office said the state was not ready to carry out the death penalty.
A court has rejected a May 1 execution date for inmate Aaron Ganches, who was convicted of murder in the 2002 murder of Ted Price in Phoenix, near Mesa. The execution was originally scheduled for Thursday.
Hobbes, who ordered a review of Arizona’s death penalty protocol, citing the state’s history of failure to manage executions, vowed not to carry out the death sentence Until the state is confident that it can carry out the death penalty without violating the law.
In late March, the state Supreme Court denied a request from Price’s sister, Karen Price, to order Hobbes executed. didn’t have to.
Price’s sister and daughter Brittany Kay subsequently filed a lawsuit against Hobbes to compel Ganch’s execution.
Karen Price’s attorney, Colleen Kress, who focuses on the rights of crime victims, did not respond to an email and text request for comment on Wednesday.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell also asked the court to extend the writ of execution for 25 days. Her office representatives also did not respond to her email request for comment.
Ganz had pleaded guilty to murder charges in the shooting death of his girlfriend’s ex-husband, Ted Price.
Hobbes’ attorneys said the state lacked staff with the expertise to carry out executions, was unable to find an IV team to carry out the lethal injections, and currently lacked the pentobarbital needed for executions. It states that it does not have a contract with a pharmacist to dispense. They also said that the position of supreme correctional leader, which is important in planning implementation, still remains vacant.
An email from the governor’s office seeking a response was also unanswered.
Several requirements for executions under state death penalty protocols have not been met in the Gantz case.
The warrant issued by the state Supreme Court was not read to Ganchez, according to the Department of Corrections. And Gantis was not moved to a special “death watch” cell, but was monitored around the clock and remained there until his execution.
Arizona, which currently has 110 people on death row, had three executions last year. Criticism of a failed execution in 2014 and the difficulty of obtaining execution drugs led to a moratorium of approximately eight years.
Since then, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert a lethal injection drip into a convicted prisoner’s body, and for refusing permission for the Republic of Arizona to witness three executions. It has been done.
Gantis, who is not a lawyer, said he represented himself when he asked the Supreme Court in November to issue a writ of execution, saying justice could be served and the families of the victims closed. In the final month of his tenure, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovic asked the courts for a warrant for Ganch’s execution.
Ganz then withdrew his request in early January, and newly elected Democratic Attorney General Chris Mays later requested that the warrant be withdrawn.
The state Supreme Court denied Mays’ request and said that a writ of execution must be granted if certain appeals proceedings were completed, a requirement met in Gunches’ case.
Gunches again changed course, saying that he now wanted to be executed and had been asked for a transfer to Texas, where he wrote, “The inmates can still serve their sentences.” The Arizona Superior Court denied the transfer.
