Arizona Capital Representation Project

The Arizona Capital Representation Project is a non-profit legal service organization that assists indigent persons facing the death penalty in Arizona through direct representation, consulting services, training and education.  The Project receives no government funding and relies on the support of your generous donations.

What’s New

Today the State of Arizona executed our client, Aaron Gunches. Mr. Gunches sought his own execution and wanted to die, however, he was not the “worst of the worst” and he deserved to live. The State and the courts allowed Mr. Gunches to short-circuit the legal appeals process required in capital cases. This undermined the reliability of his conviction and sentence and introduced arbitrariness into the capital punishment system. The current administration hand-selected Mr. Gunches as their first target knowing that, as a volunteer, he would not challenge the highly problematic execution process or drug supply. The people of Arizona deserve greater transparency and accountability from their leaders. 

The state’s long history of execution cover-ups continues as Gov. Katie Hobbs scuttled her own transparency effort

Medical experts and death row inmates claim the state violates multiple laws in its execution process.

Article Link: Prisoners are unresponsive, but not fully anesthetized, when their lungs fill with fluid and they drown, a new brief claims.

Today, President Biden announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row. Those individuals will have their sentences reclassified from execution to life without the possibility of parole. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/23/fact-sheet-president-biden-commutes-the-sentences-of-37-individuals-on-death-row/

In this edition of Newsmaker, FOX 10’s John Hook talks with retired Judge David Duncan, who was previously tasked with reviewing Arizona’s execution process.

PHOENIX — He was fired last month by Gov. Katie Hobbs.

But David Duncan told Capitol Media Services he still intends to complete his report about what he has learned about the execution process in Arizona — and make it public

Duncan said there are several conclusions from the research he already had done that he believes need to be shared. And it starts with the one method for legally executing inmates in Arizona that he was asked to review.

State and national organizations gathered at the state capitol imploring Governor Katie Hobbs to commit to the completion of the final report reviewing Arizona’s execution process for death row inmates before those executions resume.

Critics are swinging back, saying the state is not prepared to follow through, and are demanding accountability.

Arizona has a complicated history with the death penalty, including a botched execution in 2014 which caused condemned prisoner Joseph Wood to gasp for two hours before dying from a lethal injection.

Several advocacy groups on Wednesday called on Gov. Katie Hobbs to finish and release an investigation into the state’s death penalty practices.