Capital Case Commission - Final Report December 31,2002

Summary of Recommendations

iii

I. Introduction to the Attorney General's Capital Case Commission	1
The Commission Membership	1

II. Capital Punishment in Arizona	3
History	3
The Capital Case	5
Trial Process	5
1. Guilt Phase	5
2. Sentencing Phase	6
Appeals Process	6
1. Direct Appeal	6
2. Post-Conviction Relief	7
3. Federal Habeas Corpus	7
Execution	7
1. Competency to be Executed	8
2. Clemency	8

III. Attorney General's Capital Case Commission	9
The Subcommittees	9
1. Data research Subcommittee	9
2. Pretrial Issues Subcommittee	11
3. Trial Issues Subcommittee	12
3. Direct Appeal/PCR Subcommittee	12
The Interim Report	13

IV. Commission Deliberations and Recommendations	14
1. Capital Litigation Resources Legislation	14
2. Audio or Video Recording of Interviews	15
3. Minimum Age for Capital Punishment	15
4. Mental Retardation	16
5. Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty Under Ariz. R. Crim. P. 15.1(g)(1)	16
6. Selection of Capital Cases	17
7. Competence of Counsel	17
8. Legal and Judicial Education	18
9. Mitigation Specialists	18
10. Proposed Reforms to Rules 31 and 32 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure	19
11. Jury Deliberation in Capital Cases	20
12. When a Peace Officer is Murdered	21
13. Victim Impact at Aggravation/Mitigation Hearings	21
14. Residual Debt in Sentencing	21
15. Clerks of Court and Court Reporters' Procedures	22
16. File Repository	23
17. Competency to be Executed	23
18. Maintaining Capital Case Data	24
19. Preserviation of DNA Evidence	24
20. Use of F6 Aggravator	25
21. Review of Capital Cases in Which Convictions Were Reversed or Sentences Remanded or Modified by the Appellate Court	25
22. Race-neutral Decisions	26
23. Requests for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty in Arizona	27

V. Comments by Commission Members

28

VI. Conclusion	32
Appendix A	33
Appendix B	38