Arizona completes execution 20+ years after murderer sought “suicide by jury”

As reported in this USA Today article, “Arizona executed convicted murderer Aaron Gunches by lethal injection Wednesday, marking the first execution in the state since 2022. Gunches, 53, had sought his execution since his guilty plea for the 2002 murder of Ted Price outside of Phoenix and received a lethal dose of pentobarbital at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence, Arizona.” Here is more:

Gunches was set to be executed in 2023 but a series of botched executions in 2022 led Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs to suspend capital punishment for a review that ended late last year…. Gunches’ execution was a test of the updated protocol, under which state officials have said there will now be additional members on the execution team….

The daughter of the victim, Brittney Price, released a statement ahead of the execution saying that its completion lifted a weight off of her shoulders. “The pain of reliving the circumstances surrounding my father’s death for over two decades has taken a significant toll on my family and me,” Price wrote. “Today marks the end of that painful chapter and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Karen Price, the victim’s sister, previously told USA TODAY that Gunches’ execution would end her dealing with the aftermath of her brother’s murder, but “it’s not closure.”… She previously told USA TODAY that the process of keeping track of Gunches was “emotionally taxing,” and has long been ready for his execution. “We want to be done with him, to not have to think about him anymore, to not have to get any calls from victims advocates,” Price said “We just want to be done.”…

Gunches pleaded guilty to killing Ted Price, who was the former longtime partner of Gunches’ girlfriend…. Gunches shot Price four times…. Gunches was arrested in La Paz County after shooting an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer during a traffic stop, according to the Parker Pioneer. The officer survived…. Investigators matched the bullets used in the La Paz County shooting with those used in Price’s death, court records show…..

During his sentencing, Gunches told jurors: “Do what you’re going to do,” according to the Arizona Mirror. The presiding judge commented that Gunches was “committing suicide by jury.”

In 2018, Gunches wrote the first of five letters to then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich asking to be executed, according to one of his handwritten motions.  In December, Gunches asked to be executed on Valentine’s Day and accused the state of pointless “foot-dragging,” according to his court filing. The Arizona Supreme Court refused. Gunches waived his right for a clemency hearing, one of his last chances for a reprieve.

Apparently in Arizona, “suicide by jury” is an especially slow way to die.