(The Center Square) – The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the execution of Aaron Brian Gunches, who was convicted of murder in 2007.
Justices issued a warrant for the execution, which has been set for March 19, according to various media. It will be the first execution for a capital crime in Arizona since 2022 when three executions were carried out.
Attorney General Kris Mayes sought the death warrant for Gunches, 53, who has sat on death row since being convicted of murder in the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price, Gunches’ girlfriend’s ex-husband, near Mesa, a Phoenix suburb. Richie Taylor, a spokesman for Mayes’ office, told The Center Square on Wednesday that the attorney general doesn’t plan to issue a statement about the execution warrant.
Gunches, who has represented himself in court, asked the state Supreme Court in late December to schedule his lethal injection earlier than planned. He said his death sentence was “long overdue,” according to The Associated Press. The court decided at the time against granting his request for an earlier execution.
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a previous death warrant for Gunches almost two years ago. But the execution wasn’t carried out while Mayes agreed not to pursue executions during a review of the state’s death penalty protocol. The review ended in November.
Arizona has 112 inmates on death row, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.