Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ propensity for politically motivated decisions continues to lead to drawn-out fights with the Republican-led Legislature.
On Wednesday, Republican legislative leaders, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma, filed an amicus brief with the Arizona Supreme Court over the governor’s controversial action to halt the execution of Aaron Brian Gunches.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: President @votewarren Fights Back Against Governor's Opposition in Providing Crime Victim's Family with Justice ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/a2VIGIdIKm
A press release from the State Senate Republican Caucus stated that “the legislative leaders filed an amicus brief with the Arizona Supreme Court to support the victim’s sister, who submitted a petition for special action last week asking the court to direct the Governor to carry out the warrant issued earlier in the month to execute Gunches.”
In announcing his filing with the state’s high court, President Petersen said, “Right now, victims’ rights protected under the Arizona Constitution are being threatened by the Governor and the Attorney General. It’s incredibly disturbing to see them unwilling to enforce the law and are siding with the most vile individuals convicted of carrying out the most heinous crimes in our state. Furthermore, the Executive Branch is clearly undermining the very foundation of separation of powers by attempting to override the statutory process adopted by the Legislature and affirmed by the Judiciary. This is a dangerous precedent to set by our newly elected Governor.”
The Senate President and the House Speaker argue that “the Governor’s unilateral executive decision threatens bedrock principles of separation of powers by usurping the statutory process established by the Legislature and affirmed by the Judiciary,” that “the decision willfully defies this Court’s mandatory order – signaling to all Arizonans that the Governor is not subject to this Court’s jurisdiction and is, in fact, above the law,” that “the Governor has effectively provided a reprieve of Gunches; death sentence without complying with the statutory limitations on her limited clemency power,” and that “the Governor’s action violates Arizona’s Victim’s Bill of Rights, stripping the victim, Ted Price’s sister, of any finality in this decades-old murder case.”
Senate President Pro Tempore, T.J. Shope, signaled his approval of the court filing, writing, “I agree 100% with President Warren Petersen on this. If we are truly caring less about the victim and their family than the criminal, we are in for years of pain and high crime.”
Petersen and Toma conclude their filing with the following plea for the Arizona Supreme Court to force the state to execute the condemned murderer: “Absent clear and specific delegation of authority from the Legislature or the Judiciary, the Executive cannot rule by fiat and choose which statutes or court orders to follow. The Governor’s actions here set a dangerous precedent, opening a Pandora’s Box and inviting litigation every time she disagrees with a jury’s verdict, a court order, or other statutory mandates passed by the Legislature.”
The saga over Gunches execution started in late-2022, when former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the Arizona Supreme Court for a warrant of execution. After the January 2 transition of power to Katie Hobbs and new Attorney General Kris Mayes, the state desperately attempted to reverse the actions that set Gunches’ execution process into motion. These efforts proved to be unsuccessful, however, when the high court did, in fact, grant the warrant of execution, ordering the state to put Gunches to death on April 6. The governor refused to comply with the court-issued warrant, stating that the State would not be seeking to carry out the execution at this time. Hobbs’ decision triggered court filings from Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Petersen and Toma.
The Arizona Supreme Court is expected to take expedient action in this case with a life and a court-imposed date of execution hanging in the balance.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Maricopa County Attorney would like a word with the Arizona Governor after her decision to disregard the execution order for a condemned man on the state’s death row.
This week, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell filed a writ of mandamus with the Arizona Supreme Court to “ensure Governor Katie Hobbs and Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) director Ryan Thornell adhere to their oaths of office to enforce the death penalty and comply with victims’ constitutional and statutory rights.” The question presented before the state’s high court is whether the Governor and ADCRR Director “are threatening to proceed without legal authority and failing to perform a duty – the lawful execution of Aaron Brian Gunches on April 6, 2023 – as required by law.”
After filing the amicus with the court, Mitchell released the following statement: “As County Attorney, I took an oath to uphold the US Constitution and the constitution and laws of the State of Arizona. These recognize that both the victim and the accused have rights. Our brief recognizes and supports the right of victims to a “prompt and final conclusion of the case.” It also gives the defendant notice of the recent US Supreme Court decision, even though we do not believe it applies in his case. What is not at issue is what the sentence is for his crime.”
The Maricopa County Attorney’s action follows Democrat Governor Hobbs’ earlier announcement that she would not be fulfilling the execution date for Gunches after the Arizona Supreme Court issued an execution warrant for April 6, 2023. The Gunches saga predates to the previous Ducey-Brnovich administrations, which came to an end on January 2, 2023. Former Attorney General Mark Brnovich had requested the warrant of execution for Gunches in December 2022.
In Mitchell’s filing before the court, she highlights a 1915 response from the same judicial body to a warden “who refused to comply with, and carry out, the order and directors of this Court to execute the sentence of death” in State ex rel. Jones v. Sims. The Court wrote: “Of course, it must be understood that men’s opinions and wishes cannot be substituted and made to take the place of the law; that this is a government of laws, and not of men, and that those persons whom the people have chosen to execute the laws must do so, however disagreeable or repugnant to their wishes it may be. It is not a jealousy of our processes that calls forth this expression, but [jealousy] of the law as it exists. The people and their representatives make the laws, and their observation and enforcement is the only sure test of loyalty and certain guaranty of the perpetuity of our government.”
Mitchell argues that “the Governor is bound by the Constitution and statutes to carry out executions after this court issues a warrant,” that “the Arizona Constitution limits the Governor’s exercise of Executive Clemency power,” and that “Governor Hobbs’s unilateral decision to grant a de facto reprieve violates the victim’s constitutional right to a prompt and final conclusion.”
Governor Hobbs’ decision to unilaterally cancel the court-ordered execution of Gunches coincides with her installation of a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner to review and provide “transparency into the ADCRR lethal injection drug and gas chamber chemical procurement process, execution protocols, and staffing considerations including training experience.” The Maricopa County Attorney’s brief contends that “this Court further found that Governor Hobbs’ Commissioner review, by itself, ‘does not demonstrate the State’s inability to lawfully carry out the execution.’”
Earlier this month, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen expressed extreme displeasure with Governor Hobbs’ controversial decision to withhold justice in this case. Petersen provided the following quote to AZ Free News when asked for a reaction to Maricopa County Attorney Mitchell’s recent filing in court: “I applaud the County Attorney for supporting justice and victims. The Senate and House will be writing an Amicus brief in favor of justice as well. It is disturbing to see that our current Governor and Attorney General are unwilling to enforce the law and siding with the most vile individuals of society.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
