06 May 2022 :

Gov. Doug Ducey says his pro-life stance applies to abortions, not the death penalty.
Ducey, who was raised Catholic, said Wednesday his self-proclaimed "pro-life'' position covers only abortions and not executions. The statements come as Arizona is set to conduct its first execution this coming week since 2014, before Ducey was elected. That, however, is contingent on whether the Arizona Supreme Court concludes Clarence Dixon is mentally fit to be executed. A warrant has also been issued for a second man, Frank Atwood, to be put to death on June 8. "When I talk about pro-life, I talk about the innocence of life at birth,'' the governor told Capitol Media Services. "What you are talking about is justice that is coming 40 years delayed to families that suffered enormous grief at the hands of murderers,'' he said. "And the state is going to see that justice is done.'' Strictly speaking, Ducey can't do anything on his own to halt either. That is because the legislature decades ago removed the unilateral power of governors to issue pardons or commute death sentences to life in prison. That can occur only on the recommendation of the Board of Executive Clemency, something that has not happened in either case. Ducey said he is just doing his job. "I took an oath to uphold the constitution and enforce the laws,'' he said. "I believe in certain situations, the death penalty is justice,'' he said. The last execution in Arizona was in 2014 when it took 15 doses of a two-drug combination over nearly two hours to kill Joseph R. Wood.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says his pro-life stance applies to abortions, not the death penalty (deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com)
Gov. Ducey says his pro-life stance applies to abortions, not the death penalty | Fronteras (fronterasdesk.org)