Stop Botched Executions in Arizona
Attorney General Kris Mayes & Governor Katie Hobbs
Three botched executions (Mr. Clarence Dixon, Mr. Frank Atwood, and Mr. Murray Hooper) took place last year after an eight year pause following the two hour long botched death of Mr. Joseph Wood. Since Mr. Wood's horrific death, Arizona tried to illegally obtain lethal injection drugs and has spent millions of dollars refurbishing the gas chamber and obtaining new drugs from an unknown supplier.
Arizona has a flawed justice system that invests in punishment and prioritizes private prison expansion over rehabilitation and addressing issues that are systemic root causes for crime. Attorney General Mark Brnovich made it a goal in his last months in office to reinstate capital punishments regardless of the mental illnesses, inadequate council representation, racial bias and potential innocence of those on death row. This can not happen again. The death penalty kills innocent people and there has not been any transparency in the protocol procedures for how executions have been conducted despite three botched attempts last year. it's time to say no to state sanctioned violence. There are currently 110 people on death row in Arizona and more than 20 have exhausted their appeals.
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To:
Attorney General Kris Mayes & Governor Katie Hobbs
From:
[Your Name]
In response the botched executions of Mr. Clarence Dixon, Mr. Frank Atwood and Mr. Murray Hooper last year, I request an investigation regarding the secrecy and lack of oversight for how lethal injection drugs were procured. I also ask that the state do not resume executions and reevaluate the use of the death penalty in Arizona.
Arizona is only one of 27 states that continues to use an archaic punishment system to kill convicted individuals sentenced to death. Many of these individuals were victims themselves of violence and directly witnessed members of their community experience violence and often suffer from mental illness and extreme trauma.
The death penalty is not a deterrent and actually makes communities less safe by siphoning resources from programs that reduce harm. The National Research Council reviewed more than three decades of research and found no credible evidence that the death penalty is a viable solution to reducing crime.
It is of the utmost importance to take this matter seriously and consider the ramifications of this process to our society, victims and justice system. While the state sanction murders of Mr. Dixon, Mr. Atwood, and Mr. Hooper can not be undone, any future death row prisoners execution should be reevaluated and how we want to address cycles of violence should be prioritized over state sanctioned killing.
Stop botched executions in Arizona and use your power to invest in a real justice practices that don't result in torture and death.
Thank you,