Arizona Executes First Death Row Inmate in Two Years

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, is set to be executed Wednesday, marking Arizona‘s first use of the death penalty in more than two years. Gunches pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the 2002 shooting of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, outside Mesa.

The execution is scheduled to take place at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence, where Gunches will receive a lethal injection of pentobarbital. He has been on death row since 2007 but is only the second of four inmates nationwide slated for execution this week.

Gunches was originally scheduled for execution in April 2023, but the plans were deferred after Governor Katie Hobbs ordered a thorough review of the state’s execution procedures. Following this, the corrections department announced staff changes related to the administration of lethal injections.

According to court documents, the events leading to Price’s death began when his ex-wife assaulted him during an argument. Price’s sister, Karen Price, noted that her brother had threatened to alert child welfare about his ex-wife’s drug use. Shortly after, Gunches arrived and, along with friends, initially intended to take Price to a bus station. However, they instead drove into the desert, where Gunches shot Price.

Gunches was arrested in January 2003, following a traffic stop near the California border during which he shot at a state trooper but was saved by his bulletproof vest. Ballistics later connected Gunches to the murder.

In a statement about her brother, Karen Price described him as a devoted family man and a lover of the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks. She expressed that their family has been devastated by his loss.

Gunches has waived his right to seek a reprieve, stating that his execution was “long overdue” and expressing a desire to provide closure for Price’s family. Despite objections from lawyers requesting the Arizona Supreme Court to intervene due to concerns over the lethal injection process, the court declined to stop the execution, asserting all procedural requirements had been met.

The execution on Wednesday makes Gunches the first inmate executed in Arizona under a Democratic governor since Virginia carried out executions in 2017.

In recent months, numerous executions have taken place across the nation, with states grappling with challenges related to protocols and access to execution drugs. Arizona has over 112 prisoners on death row, having experienced a lengthy pause in executions following a botched one in 2014.