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Experts: Arizona executioners took too long to insert IV

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Experts: Arizona executioners took too long to insert IV


PHOENIX – The primary execution in Arizona in almost eight years was carried out extra easily than the state’s final use of the demise penalty, when a condemned prisoner who was given 15 doses of a two-drug mixture gasped for air a whole bunch of occasions over almost two hours.

The lethal-injection demise of Clarence Dixon on Wednesday on the state jail in Florence for his homicide conviction within the 1978 killing of 21-year-old Arizona State College pupil Deana Bowdoin appeared to comply with the state’s execution protocol: After the drug was injected, Dixon’s mouth stayed open and his physique didn’t transfer. He was declared lifeless about 10 minutes later.

However demise penalty specialists Thursday that stated the estimated 25 minutes it took medical employees to insert an IV into Dixon’s physique was too lengthy. The employees first tried and did not insert an IV into his left arm earlier than they have been in a position to join it in his proper arm. They then opted to make an incision, referred to as a “cutdown,” in his groin space for one more IV line.

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Deborah Denno, a Fordham Regulation College professor who has studied executions for extra 25 years, stated executions ought to take seven to 10 minutes from the start of the IV insertion course of till the second the prisoner is asserted lifeless.

“It’s an indication of desperation (on the a part of the execution crew), and it’s an indication of an unqualified executioner,” Denno stated.

Earlier than Dixon was put to demise, the final execution in Arizona came about in July 2014, when Joseph Wooden was given 15 doses of a two-drug mixture over almost two hours. Wooden snorted repeatedly and gasped earlier than he died. The method dragged on for thus lengthy that the Arizona Supreme Courtroom convened an emergency listening to in the course of the execution to resolve whether or not to halt the process.

Since then, Arizona modified its execution protocols, agreeing to now not use one of many medication — midazolam — that was injected into Wooden. As a substitute, Dixon was executed with an injection of pentobarbital.

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The issues with Wooden’s demise, mixed with the problem the state confronted to find sources to promote it deadly injection medication, led to the almost eight-year hiatus in executions in Arizona.

Comparable issues have occurred beforehand with medical employees making an attempt to insert IV traces in condemned prisoners.

Alabama jail officers tried to execute a prisoner by deadly injection in February 2017 however needed to cease as a result of medical employees couldn’t discover a appropriate vein to attach the intravenous line. The prisoner died of most cancers nearly 4 years later.

A November 2017 execution was referred to as off in Ohio after members of the execution crew informed the state prisons director they couldn’t discover a vein. The prisoner died of pure causes a number of months later.

And one other deadly injection execution in Ohio was referred to as off in September 2009 after two hours when technicians couldn’t discover a appropriate vein for a condemned prisoner, who had cried in ache whereas receiving 18 needle sticks. He died in jail in late 2020 of potential issues of COVID-19.

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Dying penalty specialists say the problem to find IV traces might be attributed to a mixture of the condemned prisoners’ bodily circumstances — resembling previous IV drug use, medical points associated to hydration or the consequences of growing older — and to untrained folks making an attempt to insert IV traces. It’s unknown whether or not the 66-year-old Dixon was ever an IV drug person.

Michael Radelet, a sociologist on the College of Colorado-Boulder who has researched the demise penalty for 40 years, stated the lingering factor of Dixon’s demise leads him to consider the execution was botched.

“I might classify it as a botch, recognizing that not everybody would agree with that. However issues didn’t go proper,” Radelet stated.

In an announcement Thursday, the Arizona Division of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry stated Dixon’s execution was carried out “flawlessly” and that it adopted the state’s legal guidelines and execution protocols.

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Rick Romley, who led the county prosecutor’s workplace in metro Phoenix that filed the homicide cost towards Dixon however left workplace earlier than he was sentenced to demise in January 2008, stated the execution might have been extra difficult than deliberate, however he did not take into account it flawed. He stated issue to find veins to insert IV traces is frequent for folks each inside and outdoors jail.

“That doesn’t hassle me in any respect,” Romley stated.

Requested whether or not the difficulties in inserting IVs throughout executions violate protections towards merciless and weird punishment, Denno stated there was a historical past of botched executions within the U.S. for the reason that creation of deadly injections.

“It (Dixon’s execution) could also be botched, nevertheless it’s not going to have an effect on anybody’s Eighth Modification rights” towards merciless and weird punishment, Denno stated. “The courts haven’t been sympathetic to circumstances like this.”

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Amanda Bass, certainly one of Dixon’s attorneys, didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Thursday.

Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.



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Arizona

Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence

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Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Gunshots reportedly rang out at Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor on Christmas night.

Airport officials tell Arizona’s Family that police responded to reports of gunfire around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

One security checkpoint and the PHX Sky Train was temporarily closed as part of the investigation, however the areas have since reopened.

At this time, police have not confirmed if anyone is injured or if anyone has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

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Arizona’s Family has a crew on scene. Check back for updates

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Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl

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Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl


Can’t make the trip to Atlanta for Arizona State football’s Peach Bowl matchup versus Texas? Harkins Theatres has you covered.

The Valley-owned theatre is inviting Sun Devil fans to watch the Peach Bowl live on the big screen at two locations: Harkins Tempe Marketplace and Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

Fans can show off their Sun Devil pride and experience the “ultimate gameday setting” with tickets for $22 that include a complimentary small popcorn.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. on Jan. 1. A win over Texas would propel Arizona State into the College Football semifinals, where it’ll play the winner of Oregon-Ohio State.

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Fans can get their tickets on Harkins’ website or in person at the Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square or Tempe Marketplace box offices.

Sun Devils grateful for support

Arizona State getting into the College Football Playoff, or even winning the Big 12 alone, was unprecedented.

The Sun Devils are the talk of the Valley right now, and whether it’s from those traveling across the country to watch in person or cheering from home in the Valley, the team is thankful for all the support they’re getting.

“I’m grateful and blessed to be in the corner that (Sun Devil fans) want to be supporting,” Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo said. “I know what it costs and what it takes to get there. It’s nice to have those people that try their hardest to get there and could be spending every dollar in their bank account to get there.”

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‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos

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‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos


Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant “dreamers” who came to the US as children.

In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a “bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them.”

Arizona, a critical border state that will be on the frontline of the struggle over Trump’s plans for mass deportations, has more than 30,000 dreamers, undocumented migrants who entered the US unlawfully as children but who were afforded rights under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The program was introduced by Barack Obama in 2012 but has been under relentless attack by Republicans ever since.

“I definitely will be fighting on behalf of dreamers,” Mayes said. “These folks are firefighters, police officers, teachers – they are part of the very fabric of our state and we will protect them.”

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Trump tried to scrap Daca protections during his first presidency and was only stopped by a narrow ruling from the US supreme court. He recently softened his position, telling NBC News that he wanted to find a way to allow dreamers to stay in the country, though his apparent U-turn has left many skeptical of his intentions.

The Daca program is already being challenged by Republican states in a lawsuit that is currently before the ultra-conservative fifth circuit court of appeals. The case is almost certain to reach the supreme court, which has a six-to-three supermajority of rightwing justices.

Despite the hurdles facing dreamers, Mayes said she remains optimistic.

“I think the supreme court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them. We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition,” she said.

Arizona’s attorney general also had strong words about any attempt by Trump to construct detention camps in her state as part of his plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants. She said her army of lawyers were also primed to push back on any move to renew family separation, the policy under which thousands of children were taken away from their parents at the Mexican border as part of a “zero tolerance” strategy.

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“If Trump tries to engage in family separation, or build mass deportation camps, I will do everything I can legally to fight that. That is not happening in Arizona, not on our soil,” she said.

Mayes added that family separation – which has left up to 1,000 families still rent apart six years later – was “fundamentally anathema to who Arizonans are”.

Mayes and her team have been preparing for months for the anticipated whirlwind of activity as soon as Trump re-enters the White House on 20 January. They have “scoured”, as she put it, Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a Trump second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation.

She has also been working closely with other Democratic state attorneys general, noting that between them they filed more than 100 lawsuits during Trump’s first presidency, winning 80% of them.

“One of our strengths is that we are doing this very much together, we are united and we are organized,” Mayes said.

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The importance of cross-state cooperation is likely to be all the more critical over border issues.

Mayes said that she was working with her Democratic counterparts Rob Bonta of California and Raúl Torrez of New Mexico – with only the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, taking a very different, anti-immigrant approach.

“Three of the four border states have attorneys general in Democratic hands and we are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she explained.

A complicating factor is Proposition 314, the ballot measure passed in Arizona in November with a resounding 63% of the vote. It allows state police to arrest any undocumented person who crosses into the US other than at legal ports of entry.

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Mayes said that the decision would not deter her from resisting Trump’s unconstitutional moves.

“Proposition 314 tells us that Arizonans are fed up with a dysfunctional border,” she said.

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“We are facing a serious fentanyl crisis in our state, and there’s no doubt that Arizonans want our border addressed. But when Arizonans voted for Donald Trump they did not vote to shred the Arizona and US constitution – I strongly believe that.”

What was needed at the border was more federal resources to increase border patrol boots on the ground, boost the interception of fentanyl, and enhance prosecution of drug cartels. What was not needed, Mayes insisted, was Trump’s threatened plan to send in the national guard and even the US military to act as a souped-up deportation force.

“There’s nothing more unAmerican than using the military against Americans,” she said. “It’s clearly unconstitutional, and it’s not something Arizonans want to see.”

Since being elected to the position of Arizona’s top law enforcement officer in 2022, Mayes has established herself as a rising star in the Democratic party capable of negotiating the at times fraught politics of a border state. Her most high-profile act came in April when she indicted 18 people including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows for participating in the 2020 “fake electors” conspiracy.

A similar prosecution of fake electors in Georgia was recently upended after an appeals court disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor in charge of the case, Fani Willis.

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Mayes told the Guardian that despite Trump’s victory in November, she had no intention of dropping the fake electors case. “These indictments were handed down by a state grand jury, and you don’t do justice by popular vote. The case is in the courts now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until it’s over.”

Such a prominent prosecution could place her in the crosshairs of Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for director of the FBI. Should Patel be confirmed for the job by the US Senate, he has made it clear he will pursue revenge investigations against those deemed to be Trump’s enemies.

Mayes didn’t want to discuss Patel’s nomination. But she did say: “I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m going to do my job, uphold the law and protect Arizonans. I’m going to do it no matter who is at the helm of the FBI.”



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