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Court denies Mayes' request, issues execution warrant for Aaron Gunches

The Arizona Supreme Court has issued an execution warrant for Aaron Gunches after the attorney general tried withdrawing the request.

PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has denied Attorney General Kris Mayes' attempt to delay a convicted killer's execution.

On Thursday, the high court issued a warrant to execute Aaron B. Gunches, who was convicted of killing a man in 2002, after a series of events involving Arizona's newly elected officials. 

Gunches initially filed a motion last year, asking to speed up his execution. He then reversed his request after Democrat Kris Mayes narrowly won her election.  

Mayes had said during the campaign she wanted to take "some time" to ensure Arizona's executions were being done properly. 

Mayes then tried to intervene in Gunches' case by filing a motion that would have withdrawn her Republican predecessor's request for the court to issue an execution warrant.

"To that end, no further warrants of execution will be sought at this time, and a detailed review of the administration of capital punishment in Arizona will be conducted," the attorney general wrote in that motion.  

The motion was filed at the same time that Gov. Katie Hobbs announced she was assembling an independent commission to investigate capital punishment in Arizona.

But the Supreme Court said that Mayes' withdrawal motion does not "provide good cause why this Court should not issue the requested warrant of execution."

The court must issue an execution warrant once the request has been filed by the state and all the legal requirements have been met, the justices wrote.

The warrant has set April 6 as Gunches' execution date.

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