Arizona AG seeks execution date for man convicted in 1995 trooper killing

Trooper Bob Martin was killed during a traffic stop on the Beeline highway; execution for his killer could be as soon as January

PHOENIX (AZFamily)—The Arizona Attorney General is asking for an execution date to be set for a man convicted in the killing of an Arizona State Trooper over 30 years ago.

On Aug. 15, 1995, Trooper Bob Martin was shot and killed while performing a traffic stop along the Beeline Highway.

His killer, Ernesto Martinez, was captured a couple of days later in California. He was convicted in Martin’s death in 1997 and sentenced to death the following year.

“The Beeline and that area where he worked, he was so well known,” said Arizona Troopers Association President Jeff Hawkins.

107 inmates are on death row in Arizona.

This week, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a Notice of Motion for Warrant of Execution.

“The Attorney General says, basically, you have permission to execute this person. The appeals process, it’s all finalized,” explained Criminal Defense Attorney Brenna Fisher, who is not connected to this case.

In the motion, it says the state seeks to file the motion for warrant in November, with execution dates as soon as January.

It’s one of the last, and most severe, steps in the death penalty process that can take decades.

“In most cases, with an average of 25 years after a conviction before the death sentence is actually executed, and that’s because of due process claims. Defense attorneys have been very successful in creating additional procedures to safeguard a defendant’s due process and constitutional rights. And the process is slow. It can take, obviously, decades before a final answer is given by the courts,” said Criminal Defense Attorney Josh Kolsrud, who is also not connected to the case.

107 inmates are on death row in Arizona currently, although not all are eligible to be executed at the moment based on the appeals process.

There are still some options available to Martinez and his defense team, including federal appeals, but a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office says Mayes has consistently enforced the death penalty in accordance with Arizona law since the state’s death penalty review ended two years ago.

“I’m glad that there’s the ability for people to have closure. And that’s really all it’s about,” said Hawkins.

Source: azfamily.com, Staff, September 3, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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