An Arizona man has been executed following his first-degree murder conviction in 2008.
Aaron Gunches, 53, was pronounced dead following the administration of lethal injection at 10:33 a.m. MST Wednesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. Gunches pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, in the desert outside the Phoenix suburb of Mesa in 2002.
“The process went according to plan, without any incident at all,” Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) Deputy Director John Barcello said in a post-execution media conference.
Barcello said Gunches did not put up “any sort of resistance.” When the death row inmate was asked if he had any last words, Barcello said Gunches shook his head, “no.”
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Gunches’ final meal included a double western bacon cheeseburger with fries, a spicy gyro, a barbecue gyro, onion rings and baklava, Barcello said. He did not elect to have a spiritual advisor present with him during the execution process.
Gunches appealed his death sentencing in 2016, according to the ADCRR, but “the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona affirmed the conviction,” a statement said.
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Gunches’ execution is the first in the state in more than two years. He is the first person executed in a state with a Democrat serving as governor since Virginia did so in 2017, when Terry McAuliffe was in charge, according to The Associated Press.
Gunches’ execution had originally been scheduled for April 2023, but was called off after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered a review of the state’s death penalty procedures.
Late last year, Hobbs fired the retired judge she had appointed to conduct the review, and the state’s corrections department announced changes in the team that lethally injects death row prisoners.
“The Department is confident in both the quality and quantity of its pentobarbital supply,” ADCRR said in a statement.
“Appropriate testing occurred earlier this year, including a quantitative chemical analysis, which has been provided to Mr. Gunches, confirming a sufficient concentration of pentobarbital in the compounded solution. Additionally, sterility testing on the compounded pentobarbital was completed earlier this year, providing verification of the drug’s beyond use date. The results of this testing have also been provided to Mr. Gunches,” the statement said.
Gunches is the second of four death row prisoners in the United States executed this week. Louisiana executed a man on Tuesday and two more executions are scheduled in Florida and Oklahoma on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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