Gov. Hobbs vows to not carry out execution ordered by Arizona Supreme Court

Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs vowed to not execute a man whose death sentence was scheduled by the state Supreme Court over Arizona's new attorney general's objections. 

"Under my administration, an execution will not occur until the people of Arizona can have confidence that the state is not violating the law in carrying out the gravest of penalties," Hobbs said Friday, one day after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that Aaron Gunches' execution warrant must be granted because certain appellate proceedings were finished, The Associated Press reported.

Hobbs' announcement comes one week after she appointed retired U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan to review the state's death penalty.

Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes, who came to office in January, tried to withdraw her Republican predecessor Mark Brnovich's request for Gunches' execution warrant. The court declined Thursday to withdraw the warrant request.

Gunches' execution is scheduled for April 6 after he was convicted in the 2002 slaying of his girlfriend's ex-husband, Ted Price.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Gunches, said Hobbs "has a constitutional and statutory responsibility to carry out all sentences, including the execution of Aaron Gunches."