Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, is set to be executed on Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price near Mesa. Gunches has expressed that his death sentence is long overdue and has been pushing for the process to be expedited. The Arizona Supreme Court issued a death warrant for Gunches two years ago, but Governor Katie Hobbs delayed the execution to review the state’s death penalty protocol, ultimately dismissing the judge appointed for the review in November. Arizona has faced criticism for the lengthy process of carrying out executions, with the last three being conducted in 2022 after an eight-year hiatus due to botched executions and drug acquisition issues.
Price’s family has expressed their desire for the execution to proceed, and corrections officials have made changes to ensure proper IV insertion for lethal injection. The Arizona Legislature is considering a proposal to replace lethal injection with a firing squad, giving voters the choice in 2026. Currently, death row prisoners can choose between lethal injection or the newly refurbished gas chamber, with the proposed ballot measure aiming to keep both methods available for different crime timelines.
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