The Death Penalty in Arizona

Arizona has the death penalty for first degree murder. When the state files a notice seeking death, an adult convicted of premeditated murder or murder of a law enforcement officer is sentenced to death or natural life (no release of any kind), and for felony murder the options are death, life or natural life; the trier of fact chooses between death and life by weighing aggravating and mitigating circumstances. A defendant under 18 cannot be sentenced to death. Executions are by lethal injection under the Department of Corrections; a person sentenced for an offense committed before November 23, 1992 may choose lethal injection or lethal gas, and lethal injection is used if no choice is made.