03 April 2022 :
Thanks, Gov. Doug Ducey, for taking Arizona's death penalty off the table
I’d guess that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, along with those who know him, and those who support him, and those who work with him, would tell you that he is a man of his word.
That Ducey is a person who means what he says.
That he is an elected official who does what he promises to do.
Earlier this week, Ducey signed a bill passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that would outlaw abortions after 15-weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
In a bill-signing letter he sent to Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Ducey wrote in part, “In Arizona, we know there is immeasurable value in every life – including preborn life. I believe it is each state’s responsibility to protect them. … In Arizona, we will continue to protect life to the greatest extent possible.”
Every life means every life, right?
If Ducey is a man of his word, he believes there is “immeasurable value in every life.” Every life. And it is true as well that, under his watch, Arizona “will continue to protect life to the greatest extent possible.” Then Arizona’s death penalty is off the table.
Every life means every life, right?
So, while numerous Republican politicians – including Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich – have been clamoring for the state to resume executions, there is no way Ducey would ever let that happen.
Right?
Not if he means what he says.
A few years ago, when Roman Catholic Pope Francis announced that the death penalty is never acceptable, under any circumstances, for good Catholics, Ducey, a practicing Catholic, said, “I, of course, am going to listen to what the pope says. At the same time, I took an oath to uphold the law in Arizona. And I’m going to continue to uphold the law.”
Seems like a way to keep Arizona’s death penalty viable.
Ducey could work around restrictions
However, as governor, Ducey has the ability to commute death sentences.
Although, individuals looking for a way to protect Ducey and keep executions in play would point out that the governor cannot unilaterally commute a death sentence. Under Arizona law, the governor cannot do such a thing unless it is first recommended to him by the state’s Board of Executive Clemency.
True. But the members of the board are appointed by the governor.
Ducey already has stacked the deck in his favor at the Arizona Supreme Court by making appointments of those tied to him and by expanding the court. Doing something like that with the clemency board would be a piece of cake by comparison.
Are they honest sentiments or claptrap?
Particularly for a powerful politician who believes there is “immeasurable value in every life.”
Every life.
And that under his watch Arizona “will continue to protect life to the greatest extent possible.”
Given that, the death penalty in Arizona would have to be off the table, right?
Otherwise, what Ducey wrote in his signing letter to Hobbs were not the sentiments of a man who can be taken at his word, but the empty talk of a fraudulently sanctimonious politician trying to appease the powerful – and generous – anti-abortion lobby.
