Arizona Supreme Court grants execution warrant for death row prisoner Aaron Gunches

The Arizona Supreme Court has granted a warrant of execution for death row prisoner Aaron Gunches, despite Gunches and the Arizona attorney general both asking to withdraw their requests for the warrant.

Previously, the high court asked the involved parties for more clarity in the case and asked them to submit briefs discussing what authority the court has in the matter.

"Because the State’s original motion for warrant of execution placed this court on notice that the requirements of (state law) have been satisfied, and because the state’s motion to withdraw does not assert otherwise, does this court have authority to do anything other than issue the warrant of execution?" asked Chief Justice Robert Brutinel at the time.

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On Thursday, the court announced it had decided it was compelled to move forward.

"The narrow question before this court is whether the criteria for issuing a warrant that authorizes the execution of appellant Aaron Brian Gunches, set forth in statute and this court’s rules, are satisfied," Brutinel wrote Thursday.

"If those criteria are met, under statute and rule the court 'shall' and 'must' issue the warrant. As the state has placed the court on notice that the criteria are satisfied, and no party having asserted otherwise, the court’s duty is to issue the warrant that authorizes the execution," Brutinel reasoned.

Setting an execution date for April 6, Brutinel said the court was "cognizant of the victim’s constitutional right to a prompt conclusion of this case."

Gunches asked the state Supreme Court to withdraw his request to be executed in January, citing the election of new Attorney General Kris Mayes as well as three recent executions that Gunches said were "carried out in a manner that amounts to torture."

Gunches had filed a motion in November asking the Arizona Supreme Court to issue a death warrant, "so that justice may be lawfully served and give closure to the victim's family."

But Gunches reversed his decision.

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 pled guilty to kidnapping and first-degree murder in 2004, and he has consistently waived his right to counsel, mitigation and post-conviction litigation.

Former Attorney General Mark Brnovich responded with his own request for Gunches' execution warrant.

But Gunches filed another motion in January, telling the state Supreme Court he had changed his mind after reading an Arizona Republic article quoting then-candidate Mayes, who said, "We need to take some time to assess how the death penalty has worked, and make sure that this is done legally and correctly."

Later in January, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the establishment of a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner, and appointed retired Magistrate Judge David Duncan to review Arizona's execution process.

Also last month, Mayes filed to withdraw the motion for Gunches' death warrant, effectively pausing executions in Arizona.

The justices acknowledged Hobbs' executive order, but said, "the review itself does not demonstrate the state’s inability to lawfully carry out the execution."

"Upon entry of a final judgment and sentence of imprisonment, legal authority over the accused passes by operation of law to the Department of Corrections and the executive branch bears full responsibility for executing the judgment and sentence," the justices wrote.

Justice John R. Lopez IV, Justice James P. Beene, and Justice William G. Montgomery all recused themselves and did not participate in the decision.

It was not immediately clear if Hobbs and the DOC would use the warrant to execute Gunches, or allow it to expire without acting on it.

Spokespeople for Hobbs and Mayes did not immediately return a request for comment on the ruling Thursday afternoon.

Have a news tip on Arizona prisons? Reach the reporter at jjenkins@arizonarepublic.com or at 812-243-5582. Follow him on Twitter @JimmyJenkins.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Supreme Court grants execution warrant for Aaron Gunches