Arizona
Governor must appear in court on pause of executions
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has been ordered to appear in court Thursday in her efforts to halt pending executions.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz said late Friday that Hobbs and Ryan Thornell, the state’s prison director, must show up to explain why the court shouldn’t issue an order against them on the grounds they are violating the constitutional rights of victims entitled to prompt justice.
The afternoon court appearance is scheduled the same day convicted murderer Aaron Gunches had been set to die. The Arizona Supreme Court in recent days concluded state law didn’t require Hobbs to proceed with the planned execution, even though it wasn’t officially called off.
An email requesting a response from the governor’s office was not immediately answered.
At the same time, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel H. Mitchell has asked the court to extend the execution warrant for Gunches by 25 days.
Gunches had been set to die by lethal injection for the 2002 killing of his girlfriend’s ex-husband Ted Price. He had pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the shooting death near Mesa, Arizona.
Price’s sister, Karen Price, has pressed the court to order Hobbs to let the execution go ahead.
Hobbs had previously appointed a retired federal magistrate judge to examine Arizona’s procurement of lethal injection drugs and other death penalty protocols.
The corrections department said Monday its death penalty protocols “have been paused as we conduct our systemic review of the execution process.”
Arizona has 110 prisoners on death row. It carried out three executions last year after a hiatus of almost eight years over criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because of difficulties obtaining execution drugs.
Colorado
Video of nightclub attack kept out of public view
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Surveillance footage capturing the attack at a Colorado gay nightclub that left five people dead and 17 others wounded will not be made public until it is presented at trial, a judge ruled Friday.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys had argued that releasing the gruesome video could make it difficult to seat an impartial jury and would further traumatize the survivors while disrespecting those who were killed in the Nov. 19, 2022, shooting.
“Those individuals deserve the respect of not having the last moments or the most traumatic moments of their lives broadcast and downloadable from a State of Colorado web site,” Anderson Lee Aldrich’s public defenders wrote in a March 2 motion.
They also argued that, unlike printed court documents, it would be too difficult to redact the video, which shows “moments of death and severe injury to several people.”
Judge Michael McHenry agreed not to make the footage public because attorneys on both sides were opposed. He said he had not received any media requests to do so.
Public court records released last month include still images of the attack and its aftermath. District Attorney Michael Allen said in a court filing that the surveillance video would be introduced at trial.
On the night of the shooting, Aldrich went to Club Q in Colorado Springs, left and then returned, according to authorities.
Surveillance video showed Aldrich entering the club wearing a red T-shirt and tan ballistic vest while holding an AR-style rifle, with six magazines for the weapon and a pistol visible, police Detective Jason Gasper testified during a February preliminary hearing.
Investigators said that soon after entering, Aldrich opened fire indiscriminately.
The shooting was stopped when Navy information systems technician Thomas James grabbed the barrel of Aldrich’s rifle, burning his hand it was so hot, Detective Ashton Gardner testified.
As panicked patrons fled from the dance floor, James and Aldrich tumbled off a landing and struggled over a handgun. Aldrich fired at least once, shooting James in the ribs, Gardner said.
After being shot, it is clear from the video that James was tiring, “but he continues to do what he can to subdue the suspect until police arrive,” Gardner testified, noting that James later gave up his spot in an ambulance to someone else who was injured.
Army veteran Richard Fierro rushed over to help, grabbing the rifle and throwing it, Gardner said. Fierro then used the handgun to beat Aldrich, telling officers later that he “kept hitting” the suspect until they arrived.
Aldrich is charged with 305 criminal counts, including hate crimes and murder. Public defenders have declined to talk about the case, and investigators have not released a motive.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys argued during a preliminary hearing over whether Aldrich’s actions were a hate crime. Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they and them pronouns, had visited Club Q at least six times in the years before the attack, witnesses testified. The venue has long been a sanctuary for the LGBTQ community in the mostly conservative city.
No trial date has been set.
Nation
California, 3 other states join bid to block JetBlue-Spirit deal
California and three other states have joined a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking JetBlue’s $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, which is scheduled for trial this fall.
New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina also joined in an updated version of the complaint that was filed Friday in federal district court in Boston.
The Biden administration argues that the deal would reduce competition and drive up prices for airline consumers by eliminating Spirit, which is known for low fares. JetBlue argues that the deal will help consumers by making the New York-based airline a stronger competitor against American, Delta, United and Southwest.
The original lawsuit was brought earlier in March by the U.S. Justice Department, Massachusetts, New York and the District of Columbia against JetBlue Airways and Spirit. Attorney General Merrick Garland led a press conference to announce the lawsuit, a signal of the importance that the Biden administration attaches to the case as part of its campaign against consolidation in many industries.
A federal judge scheduled the trial to begin Oct. 16 in Boston.
