By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
Attorney General Kris Mayes insists that she is “the state.”
But Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell says she, too, can be “the state.” So, she said, is every other prosecuting agency.
And now the Arizona Supreme Court has to decide who is legally right, with the fate and execution of at least one man on death row hanging in the balance.
The conflicting claims come in new legal briefs filed with the high court, which has to decide who has the statutory authority to seek a warrant of execution.
If the justices side with Mitchell, she has made it clear she will move promptly to get the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to execute Aaron Gunches. She said he should have been put to death by now except for the fact that an earlier warrant sought by Mark Brnovich, Mayes’ predecessor, expired before the execution was carried out.
