In Phoenix, Arizona, a significant development in the state’s justice system is set to unfold this Wednesday, marking the first execution in over two years. Aaron Brian Gunches, a 53-year-old man who admitted to committing first-degree murder, will face execution at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. His execution will be carried out through a lethal injection of pentobarbital. Gunches was convicted for fatally shooting Ted Price, the former husband of his girlfriend, in a 2002 incident that occurred in the desert near Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix.
This week, Gunches is the second among four death row inmates across the United States scheduled for execution. The first occurred in Louisiana on Tuesday, while additional executions are planned in Florida and Oklahoma on Thursday. Notably, Gunches will be the first individual executed in a state governed by a Democrat since Virginia in 2017, under the leadership of Terry McAuliffe.
Initially, Gunches’ execution was intended for April 2023; however, it was delayed following an order by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs for a comprehensive review of Arizona’s death penalty protocols. The review led to the termination of a retired judge who had been appointed by Hobbs and resulted in adjustments being made to the team responsible for executing death row inmates via lethal injection.
The sequence of events leading to the murder began with an altercation at the apartment of Price’s former wife. During the dispute in late 2002, she struck Price with a phone, rendering him conscious but disoriented. According to Karen Price, Price’s sister, her brother had been threatening to report his ex-wife to child welfare authorities for drug use in front of their children. Gunches arrived later, instructing two women present to escort Price to a bus station. When they discovered insufficient funds for the bus fare, they drove Price into the desert, where Gunches ultimately shot him.
In January 2003, Gunches was apprehended near the California border by an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper. During the arrest, Gunches shot the trooper, who survived thanks to a bulletproof vest. Forensic evidence linked the shooting to the murder of Ted Price, culminating in Gunches’ charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in October 2003. His guilty plea came in 2007. Karen Price commemorated her brother as a generous and affectionate individual who enjoyed sports and motorcycle rides, and she expressed how deeply his death impacted their family.
Gunches, opting to represent himself despite lacking legal qualifications, had previously approached the Arizona Supreme Court in 2022, requesting an execution warrant to provide closure to Price’s family. He ultimately retracted this request, though the execution was tentatively scheduled and subsequently postponed pending Governor Hobbs’ review.
In late December, Gunches petitioned the state’s highest court once more, asking them to expedite his execution, describing his death sentence as overdue. The court rejected this appeal, setting his execution date for the upcoming Wednesday.
As the execution looms, no last-minute clemency is anticipated for Gunches. Although some attorneys, who were not directly representing him, petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court to refrain from issuing his execution warrant, citing concerns over the pain caused by pentobarbital injections, their argument was dismissed. The court deemed that the procedural requirements to conduct the execution were fulfilled.
Gunches waived his rights to seek clemency from the Arizona Clemency Board last week, solidifying the path to his imminent execution.
