Arizona inmate asked to be executed ahead of schedule

Death row inmate Aaron Brian Ganchez, sentenced to death in the state of Arizona(USA), has asked the state's highest court to omit legal formalities and schedule his execution earlier than the authorities had planned. This was reported by the Associated Press (AP) agency on January 5.

Ganchez wrote a handwritten statement asking the court to postpone his execution until mid-February on a 2002 murder charge. He noted that he is not an attorney but decided to defend his interests as a prisoner himself. The inmate pointed out that his death sentence is "long overdue" and the state has long been slow to ask the court for a schedule of legal briefings before the execution.

For its part, Attorney General Chris Mayes' office, which is seeking Ganchez's execution, said the briefing schedule is necessary to ensure corrections officers can meet a required condition for execution - testing for pentobarbital, which is used for lethal injection.

That said, Ganchez had already asked the Arizona Supreme Court for an execution warrant two years ago, noting that this way justice would finally be served and the victim's families could get closure.

On the eve of the new year 2025, The Herald reported on the abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Zimbabwe. The publication called the decision historic and noted that the paper provided instructions for reviewing the cases of prisoners who have been sentenced to death. As Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi noted, the law "demonstrates the country's commitment to justice and humanity."