Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) and Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) are moving to reinstate executions after a two-year pause in the state. The suspension, initiated when both officials took office in 2023, was intended to allow for a comprehensive review of Arizona’s troubled capital punishment system, but Governor Hobbs recently ended the review, citing concerns about its findings and direction.
Concerns About the Review Process
Hobbs appointed former U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan to evaluate Arizona’s execution procedures, focusing on issues such as drug procurement, protocols, and staff training. However, she dismissed Duncan last week, stating that the review faced “repeated challenges” and failed to meet the intended goals. In a letter, Hobbs criticized Duncan for exceeding the scope of his role, noting that his draft recommendations included the use of firing squads, a method not currently permitted under Arizona law.
“For example, you recommend that [the Department of Corrections] conduct executions by firing squad … despite the Executive Order’s direction to focus on procurement, protocols, and procedures related to carrying out an execution under existing law,” Hobbs wrote.
Duncan’s Response
Duncan expressed shock at his dismissal and suggested his findings might have been politically inconvenient. “I can imagine maybe political winds change, that that could have happened. Maybe I was telling people what they didn’t want to hear,” he told Fox 10 Phoenix. He described his mandate as identifying why Arizona had experienced botched executions, determining if they could be carried out properly, and increasing transparency. Duncan criticized his limited access to information, including being denied permission to observe mock executions.
Duncan also questioned Arizona’s handling of execution procedures, highlighting issues such as paying a doctor $60,000 in cash for three executions without providing tax documentation. “The next response that I received from the state of Arizona was the letter from Governor Hobbs firing me,” Duncan said.
Flawed Execution History
Arizona has faced significant criticism for its execution practices. In 2022, after an eight-year pause, the state executed three prisoners, all of whom reportedly suffered due to complications with lethal injection. For example, Clarence Dixon’s IV insertion process took 40 minutes, causing what his attorneys described as unnecessary pain and resulting in “a fair amount of blood,” according to media witnesses.
Calls for Alternatives
Duncan’s draft report concluded that lethal injection is unreliable and suggested that firing squads might be a more humane option. “It is a very quick death, and it is one that is probably the most humane of it,” he said, noting the 7% botch rate for lethal injections. While Arizona law does not currently allow firing squads, Duncan suggested voters should consider the method as an alternative.
Future Steps
Following Duncan’s dismissal, Attorney General Mayes announced plans to seek a death warrant for a prisoner in the coming weeks. Arizona allows death row inmates to choose between lethal injection or the gas chamber, though the latter is only available for inmates sentenced before 1992.
