But Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell says she can become a “state,” and other prosecutorial agencies can, too, she said.

Now the Arizona Supreme Court must decide who is legally in the right, with the fate of at least one death row inmate hanging in the balance.

The conflicting arguments are set out in new briefs filed with the Supreme Court, which must decide who has the legal authority to seek a writ of execution.

If the judge sides with Mitchell, she said she would order the Department of Prisons, Rehabilitation and Reentry to quickly execute convicted murderer Aaron Ganchez, who she said should have been put to death already if not for the fact that an arrest warrant previously sought by Mays' predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, expired before the execution.

Mayes, a Democrat, has not yet sought a new warrant, waiting at least in part until a special commissioner appointed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs to study the death penalty completes a report by retired Judge David Duncan, which may not be completed until the end of the year.

Mitchell, a Republican, argues that Arizona law requires the Supreme Court to issue a death warrant if the “state” gives notice that it will no longer conduct post-conviction or habeas corpus proceedings.

“The Nation clearly has all “The definition does not state that 'State' refers solely to the Arizona Attorney General,” she wrote to the court.

Ultimately, Mitchell said, she has the same authority to seek a death warrant as Mays.

Ganchez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping in the 2002 death of her lover's ex-husband, Ted Price.

He was found guilty but his death sentence was overturned, but a new jury reinstated it.

Ganchez waived his right to a post-conviction review and filed his own petition for the issuance of his death warrant in November 2022, joined the following month by then-Attorney General Brnovich.

But Ganchez withdrew that request in January 2023, and Mays asked for the warrant to be withdrawn.

The high court refused, but the warrant, which contained a stay of execution period, expired before the execution took place, and Mays denied a request for a new warrant.

Judge Mitchell asked the Supreme Court to issue a new warrant in May, and Judge Mays told the justices to ignore her request.

“The attorney general undoubtedly retains exclusive authority to seek a writ of execution from this court,” she told the justices.

“The Legislature expressly designates the attorney general as the 'chief legal officer of the state,'” Mays continued, which includes “sole responsibility for prosecuting and defending in the Supreme Court all actions to which the state or any official of the state is a party.”

That's at least partly due to the fact that her office represents the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, the agency that carries out death penalty executions, she said.

“A request for a death warrant carries with it a confession that the state is prepared to 'execute the sentence in accordance with state and federal law,'” Mays said. “As legal counsel to the ADCRR, the attorney general is uniquely positioned to make that confession.”

That includes ensuring the division has access to information such as execution procedures and lethal injection drugs, identifying execution team members, providing training sessions and conducting equipment testing, she said. It also includes making sure the division has the supplies to compound pentobarbital for injection and has a compounding pharmacist available to compound it within the allotted time.

Mays said this is all confidential and he cannot discuss with the county attorney the department's ability to follow these procedures.

Meanwhile, Mitchell said the court should look to the victims' bill of rights – provisions of the constitution and law – and that the key, he said, is “the prompt and final closure of cases following conviction and punishment.”

Mitchell said that in this case, the victims, Ted Price's sister Karen Price and her daughter Brittney Kay, have asserted their rights and asked her to help enforce them as required by state law, which she said gives her “not only the authority but the obligation to do so.”

The judge's decision in the case could have ramifications for more than just Gantjes: 109 men and three women are on death row.