Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday there’s a good reason she is ignoring the recommendation of her hand-picked expert who said it’s impossible to humanely kill inmates by lethal injection: She says he was not “up to the task.”

But the governor also won’t say whether she personally believes that it’s possible to humanely conduct an execution.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Hobbs said.

All this comes as Hobbs dismissed retired federal magistrate David Duncan Nov. 26, whom she hired last year after she said there had been a series of “botched executions” in Arizona, all conducted using lethal injection.

“I’m grateful for the work he did,” she said. “But we decided to go in a different direction.”

That “different direction” is to resume putting prisoners convicted of capital crimes to death by lethal injection, which is the only method currently authorized under the Arizona Constitution. Hobbs sought the study and got fellow Democrat, Attorney General Kris Mayes, to pause seeking execution warrants while Duncan was conducting it.

Hobbs made it clear Monday she believes that Duncan was getting into issues she believes went beyond her order to study the process.

“Just one example of that was he started saying that we should execute people by firing squad,” the governor said. “And that is clearly unconstitutional, not the job he was hired to do.”

Duncan, however, told Capitol Media Services he was hired to find out what went wrong with previous executions that resulted in perceptions that had been “botched.” In fact, Hobbs herself used that word last year in announcing the study.

More to the point, Duncan said that required him to determine whether the procedure is humane. And he said the comments about using a firing squad were designed to say that if the state is going to have a death penalty, a decision that wasn’t his to make, that process is more humane, shorter, and results in less pain.

Hobbs said Monday that her decision to fire Duncan and give her blessing to resuming executions followed a review of the process by the state Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry conducted under Ryan Thornell whom she hand picked after taking office to run the agency.

Thornell came to Arizona from the Department of Corrections in Maine, which has no death penalty.

“I am very confident in their review,” the governor said.

“They have thoroughly gone through every procedure and process and updated them,” she said. “And I’m confident in the process.”

More to the point, the governor said that the death penalty, and lethal injection, are the law in Arizona.

“And we’re going to follow the law,” she said.

Hobbs said, though, she will not follow the lead of Mayes, who told Capitol Media Services, she intends to be a witness at the next execution.

“She believes that given her role in requesting the warrant it is her obligation to attend,” said Richie Taylor, Mayes’ press aide.

Hobbs, however, pointed out that her decision to stay away is no different than any of her gubernatorial predecessors.

“And I’m confident in the team that’s in place and the processes that will be in place,” she said.

Nor does she expect a repeat of prior problems, saying there is a new team in place, not the one “where we had botched executions.”

“The whole point of doing a thorough review is to avoid that,” Hobbs said.

“Everyone understands the scrutiny that is in place and they want to avoid that as well in making sure that we’re carrying out this ultimate punishment according to the law and ensuring that the botched situation isn’t going to happen.”

And, method of execution aside, what does the governor believe about capital punishment?

“I’m not going to talk about that,” Hobbs responded.

Strictly speaking, the governor plays no role in executions.

It is solely up to the attorney general to ask the Arizona Supreme Court for the necessary warrant to execute someone once all appeals have been exhausted. And unlike some states, the governor here cannot unilaterally pardon someone or commute a sentence without first getting a recommendation to do so from the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.

But it was Hobbs’ decision to seek a study that led Mayes to refuse, at least until now, to seek such warrants.

Mayes last week filed paperwork asking the Supreme Court to set a schedule to hear arguments about whether to issue a warrant to execute Aaron Gunches. He pleaded guilty to the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband.

Hobbs said Monday that case is one reason she and Mayes want to resume executions.

“This is something that the victim’s family has been waiting for for a long time,” the governor said.

“And this is the law of the state of Arizona,” Hobbs said. “And both of us have been elected to uphold that law.”