Capital punishment in Arizona

The Commission issued a report in 2002, proposing changes to the "public defender’s office for capital cases, adjustments to laws and court rules, and minimum competency requirements.

"[1] In 2007, due to the high number of pending capital cases after the election of Andrew Thomas as Maricopa County Attorney, Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor called for a review of the Death Penalty.

[9] In 2024, County Attorney Rachel Mitchell filed suit against Kris Mayes in an attempt to force the execution of Aaron Gunches.

[16] After the controversial and much-publicized 1992 execution of Donald Eugene Harding, who took 10 and 1/2 minutes to die, the voters changed the method to lethal injection.

[17] However, inmates convicted for capital crimes committed prior to November 23, 1992, may choose gas inhalation instead.

[24] In 2011, the state was found to be lawfully buying execution drugs from Dream Pharma, a pharmaceutical company operating out of a driving school in west London, UK.

[25] In 2015, Arizona illegally tried to import sodium thiopental from India, but the shipment was seized by federal officials at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.

[27] In a 2024 episode of Last Week Tonight, comedian John Oliver claimed that Arizona had acquired the drugs from the Connecticut chemical company Absolute Standards.