It’s Time for an Urgent Moratorium on the Death Penalty In Arizona

Phoenix, AZ—It’s most obvious now after the stinging rebuke by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the Debra Milke case that there was a serious Culture of Corruption within the law enforcement community here. 
The court took the unusual step of actually referring the conduct of cops and prosecutors to the Department of Justice for an investigation into the violation of Debra Milke’s civil rights. 
Debra Milke’s case was one of 135 pending capital cases in Maricopa County in 2006, more than the combined number of cases in the next three jurisdictions at the top of the list: Los Angeles County and Clark County, Nev., each with 36; and Harris County, Tex., with 17. These statistics seem to indicate officials here had an unusual thirst for blood, unfortunately even for the blood of the innocents. 
In Maricopa County under the leadership of former top prosecutor Rick Romley they were on a deadly mission to win death sentences apparently at the cost of innocent lives. Some prosecutions in the late 1980s and the early 1990s here were fraught with perjury, evidence and witness tampering by cops and prosecutors. 
So far taxpayers have paid out over $6.5 million to victims of either reckless or deliberate actions by law enforcement to execute innocents during that time period. The Buddhist Temple Massacre case was a high profile and tragic example of Sheriff’s officers and two former prosecutors that morphed into common street thugs as they railroaded four Tucson lads on the fast track to Death Row. 
A Phoenix mail carrier Ray Krone was twice convicted when a prosecution “bite Expert” manipulated the pliable skin of a murder victim to fit the teeth of the innocent man who spent a decade on Death Row. This does not take into account many other cases that did not involve the death penalty. There obviously was a win at all cost mentality by law enforcement during this period. 
Fundamental fairness, dictates that independent investigators must take a second look at every Arizona death penalty case. Perhaps the governor should appoint a Blue-Ribbon Commission of lawyers and investigators for this specific task and any case where similar misconduct is suspected. 
I’m not sure of the needed legal authority to authorize a moratorium in Arizona. I suspect that it may take emergency legislation to create a vehicle to halt executions when there are signs of foul play in a capital case. 
The bigger question I have is can government be trusted with the power to kill its own citizens? It seems in every nation that ever had capital punishment its abused at one time or another. 
Taxpayers would save untold millions by outlawing the often-flawed practice. Read the Court’s 60 page opinion on Debra Milke here: