Arizona inmate withdraws execution request, citing recent executions he says amounted "to torture"

Phoenix — An Arizona death row inmate has withdrawn his request to be executed.

In a handwritten motion dated Wednesday and addressed to the Arizona Supreme Court, Aaron Gunches cited three recent executions he said were "carried out in a manner that amounts to torture," noting that Arizona Department of Corrections execution team members struggled to insert IV lines during the lethal injection process.

"For the Arizona Supreme Court to issue an execution warrant under the current conditions amounts to court ordered cruel and unusual punishment, which simply cannot be allowed," Gunches wrote.