Arizona Supreme Court rejects request to postpone expiration of death warrant

The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected a crime victim's request to postpone the expiration of a death warrant after the court ruled the governor was not compelled to carry out the execution of Aaron Gunches.

Gunches 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 asked to be executed, with support from previous Attorney General Mark Brnovich. But after the Supreme Court granted the warrant in March, newly elected Gov. Katie Hobbs said she would not direct the Department of Corrections director to carry out the execution, pending a review of Arizona’s death penalty process.

Price’s sister has been fighting the decision by the governor in the courts, asking the Supreme Court to compel Hobbs to carry out the warrant, anyway.

"Without authority, the governor is threatening to deny the victim her state constitutional rights to justice and finality," wrote crime victim attorney Colleen Clase, who represents Price, in a recent previous filing.

The Supreme Court ruled the warrant authorized — but did not compel — the governor to carry out the execution. In response, Clase asked for clarification on “whether the decision allows the director to disregard the warrant of execution and permit it to expire.”

In a motion filed last week, Clase argued the director has to seek a stay or dismissal of the execution warrant.

A stay is a legal term used to describe a court action that would stop a proceeding.

“A warrant of execution in a capital case is the embodiment of the final judgment and authority to execute the sentence,” Clase wrote. “In a legal sense, it is no different than a judgment and sentence in a non-capital case.”

Clase said the director is required “to enforce the sentences imposed by the courts.”

“Unless the director has sought a stay or dismissal of the warrant of execution, under the law the execution must proceed,” Clase wrote.

In a separate motion, Clase requested a stay of the warrant.

On Monday, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected the request for clarification and the request for a stay.

Pending any other legal action, the warrant will expire on April 6.

Department of Corrections Director Ryan Thornell recently submitted a declaration to the state Supreme Court, saying the state was in no position to carry out executions. He cited a lack of personnel and “the necessary institutional knowledge and expertise to conduct an execution.”

Hobbs appointed retired magistrate judge David Duncan to review the death penalty process, and his work is ongoing. Both Hobbs and Attorney General Mayes have said the state will pause executions pending that review process.

Source: AZ Central, Jimmy Jenkins, March 27, 2023

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