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Immigration, abortion, gay rights put Arizona in national legal spotlight
Arizona politics not only kept courts busy in 2012, but led to a landmark case in June when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the state’s most prominent immigration policy.
Death-row attorney sues Brewer, Clemency Board
A death-row prisoner scheduled for lethal injection May 16 sued Gov. Jan Brewer today, alleging she illegally appointed three members to the Board of Executive Clemency.
Attorney challenging readiness of new Clemency Board members
An attorney for the next Arizona inmate to be executed is making a legal issue out of the recent shakeup of the Board of Executive Clemency and questioning whether newly appointed members will have enough training to stand in judgment of her client.
Johnny Paycheck has nothing on Duane Belcher
After 20 years of work with the Board of Executive Clemency, Executive Director Duane Belcher was fired and shown the door on Monday – and not without the help of Capitol Police. Belcher was kicked out of the Ninth Floor after engaging in a heated conversation with Brewer deputy chief of staff and DOA Director Scott Smith. “I called him an a**hole,” Belcher told our reporter, adding that pol[...]
Dust-up leads to Clemency director’s firing
Gov. Jan Brewer fired the outgoing executive director of the Board of Executive Clemency after three newly confirmed appointees showed up late for work Monday.
Their tardiness caused a two-hour delay of clemency hearings as victims and families of prisoners stood by disgruntled, and waited for a quorum to form.
3 new appointees on clemency board; long-time chief out
Duane Belcher, chairman and executive director of the Arizona Board of Clemency, is on his way out after 20 years, as three new appointees take their places on the panel now made up entirely of Gov. Jan Brewer’s picks. Belcher’s departure, some observers say, creates a vacuum of experience and leadership. Belcher is also one of the last members left from a board that unanimously recommended[...]
Clemency shift would bypass Arizona governor
State budget problems are prompting lawmakers to reconsider a lot of things, but the issue of crime and punishment has been too hot to touch, even if doing so would save money.
