Arizona Supreme Court rejects bid to reschedule execution

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to reschedule an execution that had been set for this week. It looked unlikely to be carried out after the governor said the state wasn’t prepared. The court declined to set a May 1 execution date for prisoner Aaron Gunches. He was convicted of murder in the 2002 killing of Ted Price near the Phoenix suburb of Mesa. Gov. Katie Hobbs has ordered a review of Arizona’s death penalty protocols due to the state’s history of mismanaging executions. She has vowed not to enforce any death sentences until there’s confidence the state can enforce them without violating the law.