Rachel Mitchell says she's going to ask state's high court for a death warrant

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said she plans to ask the Arizona Supreme Court for a warrant of execution, a process normally handled by the attorney general.

It is unclear if a county attorney has the power to request a death warrant. But Mitchell, who is running for re-election, said Wednesday that she believes she can "as an attorney who acts on behalf of the state."

The announcement is the latest move in a pressure campaign by Mitchell to resume the death penalty.

Upon taking office last year, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes suspended capital punishment in Arizona while a review of the death penalty process was conducted.

But Mayes said in emails written in May that review was coming to a close and that her office would begin pursuing executions early next year.

Nevertheless, Mitchell accused Mayes of dragging her feet, saying victims of the condemned people on Arizona's death row deserve justice.

Mitchell revealed on Wednesday the Arizona Department of Corrections told her in February that they had found a compounding pharmacist who could prepare drugs for lethal injection. Mitchell said she also believed the state had acquired the necessary drug, pentobarbital.

At his confirmation hearing in June 2023, Department of Corrections Director Ryan Thornell said the agency had been prepared since early May of that year to carry out an execution should a warrant for one be issued. The only remaining matter would be the compounding of the execution drugs because they have a limited shelf life, he said.

Mayes called Mitchell a "rogue" county attorney on Wednesday.

"Only the Attorney General is authorized to seek warrants of execution," Mayes said. "Even though she knows what she is doing has no legal merit, County Attorney Mitchell seeks to circumvent the authority of the Attorney General's office and to use victims as pawns for her own political gain."

Mayes reasserted her position that she is waiting on the results of an independent review process "so that when a warrant is ultimately issued by my office, victims will have certainty that it will be carried out."

Mayes accused Mitchell of disrespecting the legal process and jeopardizing the system of justice.

"I will vigorously defend the authority of this office – and will not stand by as the Maricopa County Attorney attempts to create chaos to save her political career," Mayes said.

The attorney general said she would move to strike the motion filed by Mitchell.

A report prepared recently by Arizona House Republicans calling for Mayes' impeachment concluded that the attorney general "possesses the sole power to ask the Arizona Supreme Court to issue warrants of execution." The report cites a section of Arizona law that says the Supreme Court "shall grant subsequent warrants of execution on a motion by the state."

"However, Attorney General Mayes has not requested a single warrant of execution," the report states.

The House Ad Hoc Committee on Executive Oversight released the 102-page document outlining its findings and exhibits last week, recommending the Legislature use its power to impeach Mayes, a Democrat.

Death penalty expert Dale Baich, an attorney who led the death penalty unit for the Federal Public Defender office in Arizona, said Mitchell doesn't have the authority to request a death warrant.

"The county attorney's beliefs are not the law," Baich said in a statement. "Arizona law says that the attorney general shall represent the state in all proceedings before the supreme court. The law does not give this power to county attorneys."

Baich said giving the power to speak for the state to county attorneys would be chaotic and could have unintended consequences.

"We do not want the fifteen county attorneys taking conflicting legal or policy positions," Baich said. "The state needs to speak with one voice."

Mitchell is seeking the execution of Aaron Gunches. He 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 has advocated for his execution, and he, along with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, sued the state over the pause in capital punishment. That lawsuit was settled when the state clarified it was able to move forward with executions.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County attorney, defying Attorney General, to seek death warrant