Arizona

Arizona executions to resume, breaking 2-year pause during review of state procedures

Published

2 months ago

November 27, 2024

Arizona executions to resume, breaking 2-year pause during review of state procedures

Executions will resume in Arizona following a two-year pause, the state’s top prosecutor says.

In a statement shared with CBS News on Wednesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said that she will soon seek an execution warrant for Aaron Brian Gunches, who is on death row after being convicted of killing his girlfriend’s ex-husband.

“My office has been preparing since earlier this year to resume executions in Arizona,” Mayes said. “Back in May, I indicated that executions would resume by early 2025. In accordance with that timeline, I plan to move forward and request an execution warrant from the Arizona Supreme Court in the coming weeks for Aaron Brian Gunches, who was sentenced to death for the murder of Ted Price.”

Mayes said her office had been working with state corrections officials to review and improve death penalty procedures. “I am confident that executions can now proceed in compliance with state and federal law,” Mayes said in her statement.

Gov. Katie Hobbs had promised not to carry out any executions until there was confidence the state can do so without violating any laws. The attorney general’s office had said it would not seek a court order to carry out the death penalty while a review was underway.

The review Hobbs had ordered effectively ended this month when she dismissed the retired federal magistrate she had appointed earlier to head the review.

The governor’s spokesman, Christian Slater, said Hobbs “remains committed to upholding the law while ensuring justice is carried out in a way that’s transparent and humane.”

Corrections officials “conducted a thorough review of policies and procedures and made critical improvements to help ensure executions carried out by the State meet legal and constitutional standards,” Slater said.

Gunches had been set to be put to death in April 2023. But Hobbs’ office said the state wasn’t prepared to enforce the death penalty because it lacked staff with expertise to carry out executions,. At the time, it also said it could not find an IV team to carry out the lethal injection and didn’t have a contract with a pharmacist to compound the pentobarbital needed for an execution.

Gunches had pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the shooting death of Price, who was his girlfriend’s ex-husband, near the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.

Arizona last carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by criticism of a 2014 execution and because of difficulties obtaining drugs for execution. In 2014, Joseph Wood was given 15 doses of a two-drug combination over two hours in an execution that his lawyers said was botched. Wood snorted repeatedly and gasped more than 600 times before he died.

The execution of Clarence Dixon, 66, in 2022 ended the nearly eight-year break. Dixon died by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence, Arizona, for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin.

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Arizona

Preview: Arizona at Texas Tech

Published

7 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Arizona carries a seven-game win streak and 5-0 start in Big 12 conference play into Lubbock to take on Texas Tech.

The Wildcats continued their winning ways on Tuesday with an 81-70 win over Baylor in what was a dominant performance by Arizona until late in the second half.

Texas Tech is off to an 12-4 start to the season and 3-2 start in conference play. The Red Raiders are coming off a 61-57 win at Kansas State last Tuesday.

Here is a preview for Saturday’s contest between Arizona and Texas Tech.

GAME INFO

Who: Arizona (11-5, 5-0) at Texas Tech (12-4, 3-2) (last game won 61-57 at Kansas State)

When: Noon (MST)

Where: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas

TV: ESPN2

Odds: Texas Tech (-4) | O/U: 151

All-time series: Texas Tech leads 28-24

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Arizona

Arizona men’s basketball at Texas Tech: Game time, odds, streaming info and more

Published

15 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Arizona men’s basketball at Texas Tech: Game time, odds, streaming info and more

It’s Game Day!

The Arizona Wildcats are back on the road, where they’ve already won twice in Big 12 play, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This is their first meeting since 2013 and 53rd overall, with Tech holding a 28-24 advantage though the UA has won the last seven matchups.

Here’s all the info you need to watch, listen to or follow the game online:

Arizona-Texas Tech game time, details:

Date: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2024
Time: 12 p.m. MT
Location: United Supermakets Arena; Lubbock, Texas
Line: According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Arizona is a 5.5-point underdog and the over/under is 150.5. KenPom.com gives the UA a 36 percent chance of winning.

How can I watch Arizona-Texas Tech?

Arizona-Texas Tech will be shown on ESPN2. Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (analyst) will be calling the game.

How can I stream Arizona-Texas Tech online?

The stream of Arizona-Texas Tech can be streamed at ESPN.com.

How can I listen to Arizona-Texas Tech on the radio?

You can listen to Arizona-Texas Tech on Wildcats Sports Radio 1290 AM.

How can I follow Arizona-Texas Tech?

By following us on Twitter (X) at @AZDesertSwarm and our editor Brian Pedersen (@realBJP).

Arizona-Texas Tech pregame coverage:

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Arizona

SB Nation Reacts: Arizona fans weigh in on CFP title game

Published

23 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

SB Nation Reacts: Arizona fans weigh in on CFP title game

Arizona entered the 2024 season as one of many teams in college football believing it had a shot to make the expanded 12-team playoff despite an offseason of turmoil. Those hopes went away pretty quickly, with the Wildcats going 4-8 under first-year coach Brent Brennan.

To make matters worse, archrival ASU ended up being the Big 12 Conference’s playoff representative, though that did give UA fans a chance to laugh and post some jealousy laden memes after the Sun Devils fell to Texas in overtime in the quarterfinals.

All that’s left in the season is the College Football Playoff title game, set for Monday night in Atlanta between Notre Dame (14-1) and Ohio State (13-2). The Fighting Irish are seeking their first national championship since 1988 while the Buckeyes are going for their first since 2014.

Who do Arizona fans think will win? We asked, and a supermajority picked OSU.

SB Nation

The current line on the game is Ohio State -8.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook, and 40 percent of our voters think the Buckeyes will cover. Nearly that many think Notre Dame will win outright, which pays +290 on the moneyline.

A poll of all SB Nation readers has the most likely outcome being Ohio State wins but doesn’t cover. And as we all know, good teams win but great teams cover … which is another way to say Arizona was far from great in 2024 as in addition to going 4-8 overall it was 2-10 against the spread which was the worst record in FBS.