LEGISLATURE

Arizona may tighten death-penalty requirements

Lauren Castle
The Republic | azcentral.com
Arizona execution chamber.

Arizona may tighten the requirements to put someone to death.

For a person to be sentenced to death, state law requires proof of at least one aggravating circumstance and that the sentence is the most appropriate punishment. 

Sen. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, has introduced legislation to eliminate several possible aggravating circumstances. Senate Bill 1314 has bipartisan support. 

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit organization that provides information on capital punishment, Arizona is among 30 states that still have a death penalty. 

There is a push in Colorado to abolish the death penalty there. 

Democratic lawmakers have in the past introduced bills in Arizona to eliminate it, with no success.

In 2017, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery wrote in an op-ed in The Arizona Republic that the death penalty was still needed. 

"As long as there are horrific murders reflecting the worst of crimes, there will be a role for the death penalty as a just and proportionate punishment," he wrote. 

Eliminating aggravating circumstances

There are fourteen aggravated circumstances to determine death-penalty cases.

"Prosecutors have to present sufficient evidence for a jury if 12 to unanimously find that the aggravating circumstance is present to render someone eligible for a sentence of death," Amanda Steele, Maricopa County Attorney public information officer said. 

The bill will eliminate three: 

  • The defendant knowingly created a grave risk of death to another person in addition to the person murdered. 
  • The offense was committed in a cold, calculated manner without pretense of moral or legal justification. 
  • The defendant used a “remote stun gun” during the crime.

Arizona execution methods: a short, gruesome history

What's the impact of the change

Farnsworth did respond to requests from The Arizona Republic about the need for the bill.

Earlier this month, Rebecca Baker, a legislative liaison for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the bill.  

“What we know is that the death penalty statues that we have in place are constitutionally sound,” she said. 

According to Baker, the County Attorney’s Office has had discussions about which factors it most often uses when prosecuting cases, and how the office can enhance the state statute to make it more sustainable for the future. 

She said the three proposed statutes have proven to historically not be the most persuasive factors when prosecuting death penalty cases. 

According to Steele it is rare that murders are sentenced to death based on those circumstances. 

The bill passed the Senate unanimously and has now moved to the House for consideration.

Have thoughts on Arizona's legal system? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Lauren_Castle. 

READ MORE: