Arizona's death row inmates continued to press for executions, asking the state Supreme Court to bypass legal proceedings and schedule the executions sooner than authorities are aiming for.
The execution of Aaron Brian Ganches marks the state of Arizona's return to the death penalty after a two-year hiatus during which it reviewed its procedures.
In a handwritten document filed in court this week, Ganchis asked the state Supreme Court to schedule his execution for mid-February for the 2002 murder of Ted Price.
Ganchis, who is not a lawyer but is representing him, said the death penalty is “long overdue” and the state is dragging its feet in asking the court to schedule legal briefings before the execution.
Attorney General Chris Mays' office, which is seeking the death penalty for Gantis, said the briefing schedule was set to ensure correctional staff could meet execution requirements, including testing for pentobarbital, which was used in Gantis' lethal injection. said it was necessary.
Two years ago, Ganchis asked the Arizona Supreme Court to issue a writ of execution, saying it would allow justice to be served and closure for the victims' families.
Ganchis was scheduled to be executed in April 2023.
However, Gov. Katie Hobbs' office said the state is not prepared to carry out the death penalty because it lacks personnel with the expertise to do so.
Hobbs, a Democrat, had promised not to carry out any executions until he was sure the state could do so without breaking the law.
The review ordered by Hobbs effectively ended in November with the firing of the former federal judge he had appointed to lead the review.
Ganchis pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend's ex-husband Price near Mesa, a Phoenix suburb.
Arizona, which has 111 people on death row, will hold its last three executions in 2022, after a nearly eight-year hiatus due to criticism that a botched execution in 2014 and difficulty obtaining execution drugs was executed.
Since then, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert lethal injections into death row inmates.
