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State And Federal Info

Arizona

History of the Death Penalty

Capital punishment has been a feature of the Arizona criminal justice system since 1865, when Dolores Moore became the first recorded execution in the federal territory that is now the state of Arizona. 108 executions were carried out in Arizona before the national moratorium on executions was imposed by the US Supreme Court in 1972. Executions were generally carried out by method of hanging until 1934, when the first execution by gas chamber was carried out in Arizona. Lethal injection became Arizona’s primary method of execution on November 15th of 1992, however those sentenced to death before that date may still elect lethal gas as their method of execution.

Timeline

1865 – First known execution in Arizona, Dolores Moore hung for murder.

1930 – Eva Dugan is executed and the rope snaps her head off.

1934 – Arizona abandons hanging in favor of the gas chamber for executions.

1972 – The Supreme Court strikes down the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia.

1973 – Arizona passes a law reinstating capital punishment.

1976 – The Supreme Court reinstates the death penalty when it upholds Georgia’s statute in Gregg v. Georgia.

1978 – The Supreme Court’s decision in Lockett v. Ohio invalidates Arizona’s statute. All death row prisoners were subsequently remanded for resentencing.

1979 – The Arizona Legislature revises the state’s capital punishment statute.

1992 – Arizona voters replace the gas chamber with lethal injection, although people sentenced prior to this date could still choose the gas chamber to be executed.

1999 – Arizona gasses Walter LaGrand, a German citizen, to death.

2000 – Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano creates the Capital Case Commission to study the death penalty in Arizona.

2001 – The International Court of Justice finds that the U.S. violated the Vienna Convention when it executed LaGrand without informing him of his right to be assisted in his case by the German consulate.

2002 – The U.S. Supreme Court finds the Arizona death penalty sentencing scheme unconstitutional in Ring v. Arizona.

2011 – Amid a national lethal injection drug shortage, the Department of Justice informs Arizona that its supply of sodium thiopental was imported illegally. Arizona rapidly switches to pentobarbital and continues executions.

2014 – Arizona executes Joseph Wood using a two-drug cocktail of midazolam and hydromorphone. It takes Wood two hours to die. A federal judge subsequently issues a stay on executions in Arizona.

2015 – Debra Milke, on death row for murdering her son, is exonerated.

2015 – Arizona tries to import illegal lethal injection drugs from India, but the drugs are confiscated at the Phoenix airport by FDA officials.

Famous Cases

Tison v. Arizona: Perhaps the most infamous death penalty cases in the history of Arizona had their inception in a 1978 prison break. Gary Tison and his cellmate Randy Greenawalt, both serving life sentences for previous murders, escaped from Arizona State Prison with the help of Tison’s three sons and lackadaisical prison visitation rules. After disabling the prison’s phone and alarm system the gang fled toward the California border. After the getaway vehicle used by the group blew a tire, Gary Tison killed the family that stopped to offer assistance, taking their vehicle and fleeing towards Colorado. The group killed another couple for their vehicle in Colorado, fleeing back into Arizona. After running one roadblock set up by police, they ran into a second roadblock that was better prepared. A shootout resulted, killing one of Tison’s sons. The rest tried to escape on foot, and although Greenawalt and two of Tison’s sons were caught quickly, Gary Tison escaped into the desert. His body was discovered 11 days later. The remaining Tisons and Greenawalt were charged with 92 crimes, including several counts of capital murder, even though they had not been the ones to pull the trigger. In 1986 this issue came before the Supreme Court of the United States, with the Tison brothers arguing that Arizona’s felony murder statute was unconstitutional because it allowed for the death penalty for those other than the actual killer. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court rejected their appeal, stating that major participants in a felony who exhibit extreme indifference to human life are eligible for the death penalty. Although Greenawalt was executed in 1997, the Tison brothers had their sentences reduced.

Ring v. Arizona: In this 2002 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States held that jurors, rather than a judge, must be allowed to determine whether a defendant is eligible for a death sentence. The finding of the Court rested on its previous ruling in Apprendi v. New Jersey: if a particular element of the crime or sentencing factor exposed a defendant to harsher punishment, a jury must find that factor. The Supreme Court found no logical or compelling reason to exempt capital cases from this requirement. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Arizona legislature met in an emergency session to mend the death penalty statute to meet the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, providing that jurors, not judges, would be responsible for imposing a death sentence.

Notable Exonerations

On April 8, 2002, Ray Krone was released from Arizona prison after DNA evidence exonerated him. He had been convicted and sentenced to death in 1992, based on circumstantial evidence and testimony stating that bite marks on the victim’s body matched Krone’s teeth. His conviction was overturned, but he was retried and sentenced to life in prison. DNA evidence was not presented in Krone’s original trial, and tests for his second trial were inconclusive. In 2001, his defense attorney secured a court order to retest the DNA using the latest technology. Those tests found that the DNA did not belong to Krone, but instead came from another man, Kenneth Phillips, who was also in prison in Arizona.

On March 14, 2003, the Pima County Attorney’s Office dismissed all charges against death row inmate Lemuel Prion, who had been convicted of murdering Diana Vicari in 1999. In August 2002, the Arizona Supreme Court had unanimously overturned his conviction, stating that the trial court committed reversible error by excluding evidence of another suspect. According to the Supreme Court, “There was no physical evidence identifying Prion as her killer,” and the trial court abused its discretion in not allowing the defense to submit evidence that a third party, John Mazure, was the actual killer. Mazure, who was also a suspect in the murder, was known to have a violent temper, saw Vicari the night of her disappearance, concealed information from the police when they questioned him, and “appeared at work the next morning after Vicari’s disappearance so disheveled and disoriented that he was fired.” The Arizona Supreme Court held that the third-party evidence “supports the notion that Mazure had the opportunity and motive to commit this crime.” (Arizona v. Prion, No. CR-99-0378-AP (2002)) Prion’s conviction was based largely on the testimony of Troy Olson, who identified Prion as the man who was with Vicari on the night of her murder. However, when police first showed Olson photographs of Prion, Olson could not identify Prion. Seventeen months later, after seeing a newspaper picture of Prion labeling him as the prime suspect in the Vicari murder, Olson believed he could identify Prion. Prosecutors admitted that Prion would most likely have been acquitted if prosecuted under the standards set by the August 2002 ruling. Prion remained incarcerated in Utah for an unrelated crime.

Read DPIC’s descriptions of Arizona’s seven other exonerations:

Jonathan Treadaway

Jimmy Lee Mathers

James Robison

Robert Charles Cruz

David Wayne Grannis

Christopher McCrimmon

Debra Milke



Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail. Photo by Richard Dieter.
Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail. Photo by Richard Dieter.

Resources

  • American Bar Association Arizona Death Penalty Assessment Report
  • Department of Corrections
  • Prosecutors
  • Arizona Capital Representation Project
  • Arizona Public Defenders Association
  • Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona
  • Victims’ services

Arizona Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Secrecy

Mar 06, 2023

Arizona Chooses Former Federal Judge to Undertake Independent Review of the Death Penalty

On February 24, 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs [pic­tured] of Arizona announced the appoint­ment of retired Judge David Duncan, a for­mer fed­er­al mag­is­trate, to lead Arizona’s Death Penalty Independent Review Committee, with all exe­cu­tions to be put on h…

Arizona Chooses Former Federal Judge to Undertake Independent Review of the Death Penalty

United States Supreme Court

Feb 23, 2023

U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Arizona Ruling That Barred Death Row Appeal

In a 5 – 4 deci­sion in Cruz v. Arizona on February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that John Cruz should have been able to inform his sen­tenc­ing jury that if he were spared a death sen­tence, he nev­er would have been eli­gi­ble for pa…

U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Arizona Ruling That Barred Death Row Appeal

Botched Executions

Jan 23, 2023

Botched Executions Prompt New Arizona Governor and Attorney General to Halt Executions Pending Independent Review of State’s Execution Process

Executions in Arizona are effec­tive­ly on hold after Governor Katie Hobbs (pic­tured) ordered a review of the state’s exe­cu­tion process fol­low­ing three botched exe­cu­tions in 2022 and Attorney General Kris Ma…

Botched Executions Prompt New Arizona Governor and Attorney General to Halt Executions Pending Independent Review of State’s Execution Process

Executions Overview

Jan 17, 2023

Tennessee Gov. Says No Death Warrants Until Execution Protocol Problems Fixed

Tennessee will not resume exe­cu­tions until it fix­es sys­temic prob­lems with the admin­is­tra­tion of its exe­cu­tion pro­to­col, Governor Bill Lee has announced. ​“It’s a very impor­tant issue that has to be done correctly,…

Tennessee Gov. Says No Death Warrants Until Execution Protocol Problems Fixed

History of the Death Penalty

Dec 07, 2022

As Lethal Injection Turns Forty, States Botch a Record Number of Executions

On December 7, 1982, Texas strapped Charles Brooks to a gur­ney, insert­ed an intra­venous line into his arm, and inject­ed a lethal dose of sodi­um thiopen­tal into his veins, launch­ing the lethal-injec­tion era of American exe­cu­tions. In the precisely …

As Lethal Injection Turns Forty, States Botch a Record Number of Executions

Public Opinion

Dec 06, 2022

Midterm Elections: Moratorium Supporters, Reform Prosecutors Post Gains Despite Massive Campaign Efforts to Tie Reformers to Surge in Violent Crime

In a year that fea­tured mas­sive cam­paign adver­tis­ing attempt­ing to por­tray legal reform­ers as respon­si­ble for increas­es in vio­lent crime, can­di­dates com­mit­ted to crim­i­nal legal reform or who promised to con­tin­ue statewide mora­to­ria on exe­cu­tions p…

Midterm Elections: Moratorium Supporters, Reform Prosecutors Post Gains Despite Massive Campaign Efforts to Tie Reformers to Surge in Violent Crime

Innocence

Nov 16, 2022

Arizona Executes 76-Year-Old Man after Refusing DNA and Fingerprint Testing

In its third exe­cu­tion of 2022, Arizona exe­cut­ed Murray Hooper for a 1980 crime that was nev­er ana­lyzed using mod­ern foren­sic meth­ods. In the days pre­ced­ing his exe­cu­tion, his attor­neys con­tin­ued to request DNA te…

Arizona Executes 76-Year-Old Man after Refusing DNA and Fingerprint Testing

Upcoming Executions

Nov 14, 2022

Week of Four Scheduled Executions Highlights Continued Concerns With the Use of the Death Penalty

The four exe­cu­tions sched­uled for the week of November 17th high­light cur­rent trends in exe­cu­tions and death sen­tenc­ing and the con­tin­ued use of the death penal­ty against vul­ner­a­ble pop­u­la­tions. The pris­on­ers sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed by four state…

Week of Four Scheduled Executions Highlights Continued Concerns With the Use of the Death Penalty

United States Supreme Court

Nov 02, 2022

Supreme Court Hears Argument in Death Penalty Case that Could Provide States a ​“Roadmap for Defying … Criminal Law Decisions”

In 1994, the United States Supreme Court held in Simmons v. South Carolina that when the pros­e­cu­tion makes future dan­ger­ous­ness an issue in a cap­i­tal case, a defen­dant has a due process right to inform jurors that he will…

Supreme Court Hears Argument in Death Penalty Case that Could Provide States a “Roadmap for Defying … Criminal Law Decisions”

Botched Executions

Jun 15, 2022

Witness: In ​‘Surreal’ Event, Possibly Innocent Death-Row Prisoner Helped Arizona Executioners Find a Vein After They Failed to Set IV Line

At his June 8, 2022 exe­cu­tion in Arizona, Frank Atwood helped prison offi­cials find a suit­able vein for the IV line that would admin­is­ter the lethal-injec­tion drugs to end his life. Jimmy Jenkins, a reporter at th…

Witness: In ‘Surreal’ Event, Possibly Innocent Death-Row Prisoner Helped Arizona Executioners Find a Vein After They Failed to Set IV Line
View More

View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 39 state executions, 1 federal execution
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 104
  • Current Death Row Population: 116
  • Women on Death Row: 3
  • Number of Innocent People Freed from Death Row: 10
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 0
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): August 8, 1973
  • First Execution After Reinstatement: 1992
  • Location of Death Row/Executions: Arizona State Prison Complex, Florence (Women: Perryville)
  • Capital: Phoenix
  • Region: West
  • Population: 7,151,502*
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 5.01
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: Injection / Choice of Gas Chamber if sentenced before 11/92
  • How is Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor has authority to grant clemency with nonbinding advice of Board of Pardons and Paroles
  • Governor: Katie Hobbs

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