An Arizona killer who has been sitting on death row for more than 20 years has now asked the state to execute him in just a few weeks.
Aaron Brian Gunches’ now-hopeful execution would mark the return of Arizona’s use of the death penalty after a two-year hiatus while the state reviewed its procedures.
In a handwritten court filing this week, Gunches requested that the state Supreme Court schedule his execution for mid-February for his murder conviction in the 2002 killing of Ted Price.
He asked the court to skip the formalities and schedule his execution earlier than planned.
Gunches, who is not a lawyer but is representing himself, stated that his death sentence is “long overdue” and that the state is dragging its feet in requesting a legal briefing schedule prior to the execution.
Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office, which is seeking Gunches’ execution, has requested a briefing schedule to ensure that corrections officials can meet execution requirements, such as testing for the pentobarbital that will be used in his lethal injection.
Gunches petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court two years ago to issue his execution warrant, claiming that justice could be served and the victims’ families could find closure.
Gunches was set to be executed in April 2023. However, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office stated that the state was not prepared to enforce the death penalty due to a lack of execution-related expertise.
Hobbs, a Democrat, promised not to carry out any executions until the state was confident it could do so without breaking any laws.
Hobbs effectively ended the review she had ordered in November by dismissing the retired federal magistrate judge she had appointed to lead it.
Gunches pleaded guilty to murder for the shooting death of Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, near the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
Arizona, which has 111 prisoners on death row, last carried out three executions in 2022, after a nearly eight-year hiatus caused by criticism of a botched 2014 execution and difficulties obtaining execution drugs.
Since then, the state has faced criticism for taking too long to insert a lethal injection IV into a condemned prisoner.