• Court delays changing execution warrant briefing process until 2026 • State seeks faster schedule, defense counsel warns of inadequate representation • Court declines to adopt its compromise proposal, reopens petition for comment

The Arizona Supreme Court put off making any changes to the execution warrant briefing process until next year, in hopes of balancing the state’s request for a faster, set schedule and capital defense counsel’s need for ample notice to provide thorough legal representation.

The Attorney General’s Office filed a rule change petition in January to set a more defined timeline for briefing motions for warrants of execution, citing a 90-day expiration date on the drug used in lethal injection.

Attorneys representing capital defendants claimed a quicker turnaro

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