Arizona has set an execution date for a convicted inmate whose death sentence was initially scheduled for early 2023. If carried out as planned, this would be Arizona’s first execution since that time.
Aaron Brian Gunches was found guilty in 2007 of murdering his girlfriend’s ex-husband, Ted Price, who was fatally shot five years prior in a suburb of Phoenix. He also shot a trooper twice when stopped by the Arizona Department of Public Safety near the California border in 2003, according to reports from authorities. Bullet casings retrieved from the trooper’s protective vest, which saved his life, matched those found at the scene of Price’s murder.
Now 53 years old, Gunches was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to Price’s murder. Recently, he stated that his death sentence was “long overdue,” as reported by the Associated Press.
In a statement, Price’s sister, Karen Price, characterized her brother as a compassionate and loving individual who loved watching the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks and enjoyed riding his motorcycle.
Price expressed her relief now that the execution warrant has been issued, noting that her brother’s two children, who were teenagers at the time of his murder, were profoundly impacted by the event.
“It’s impossible to describe how Ted’s murder has devastated our family,” Price shared.
Arizona halted executions in 2022 to review and refine its death penalty procedures, according to officials. As the original execution date approached the following year, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs postponed it, stating Arizona was not equipped to carry out the death penalty due to a lack of corrections staff with the necessary expertise and the absence of a pharmacy contract for lethal injection drugs. The state attorney general, also a Democrat, consented not to pursue executions while the review of the state’s death penalty protocol was ongoing.
No executions took place in Arizona from 2014 to 2022 following significant public backlash after a well-publicized and reportedly botched lethal injection. After momentarily resuming executions in 2022, Arizona faced further criticism for the excessive time taken to insert an IV for lethal injection.
The review of Arizona’s death penalty concluded in November when Hobbs dismissed the retired federal magistrate judge assigned to evaluate execution procedures.
A spokesperson stated at that time that the review had led to essential improvements to meet legal and constitutional standards and emphasized that the governor “remains committed to upholding the law while ensuring that justice is executed in a transparent and humane manner.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced to CBS News that she planned to seek a death warrant for Gunches.
“I am confident that executions can now proceed in adherence to state and federal law,” Mayes affirmed in her statement.
Gunches, who is not an attorney but is representing himself, requested the court in late December to bypass legal formalities and schedule his lethal injection sooner than initially planned, asserting that his death sentence was “long overdue.” However, the state Supreme Court denied his request.
Attempts to reach Emily Skinner, an attorney who serves as Gunches’ advisory counsel, for comment went unanswered through both phone and email.
