Posted on 03/27/2025 12:33:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Aaron Gunches had been seeking to be executed for more than a decade.
A 53-year-old man convicted of murder was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, becoming the third person executed in the United States this month, officials said.
Death row inmate Aaron Gunches had fought for more than a decade to be put to death for the 2002 murder of his then girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, even recently waiving his right to a clemency hearing.
The execution began just after 10 a.m. local time at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence and it took about 17 minutes for Gunches to die, according to media witnesses. The time of death, according to the witnesses, was 10:33 a.m.
Asked by prison officials if he had any last words, Gunches shook his head no and closed his eyes, according to the media witnesses. A short time later, the lethal injection of pentobarbital was administered to his left arm, the witnesses said.
Gunches was the first person executed in Arizona since 76-year-old Murray Hooper, convicted of murdering two people in 1980, was given the ultimate punishment in November 2022.
Gunches was arrested for kidnapping and killing 40-year-old Ted Price by shooting him four times in the Arizona desert near Mesa. Gunches pleaded guilty to the charges in 2007. In 2022, Gunches asked the Arizona Supreme Court to issue an execution warrant. The state Supreme Court honored his request, issuing the execution warrant on Feb. 11.
During a post-execution news conference, Price's sister, Karen Price, said Gunches' execution "marks the final chapter in a process that has spanned nearly 23 years."
She said her brother, who was 15 months older than she, moved back to Arizona from their hometown in Utah to pursue a degree as a radiology technician. She said Ted Price was temporarily staying with his
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Kind of have to respect that.
“The execution began just after 10 a.m. local time at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence and it took about 17 minutes for Gunches to die...”
Does it normally take that long for someone to die via lethal injection?
That he asked to be executed or that he killed his girlfriend’s ex?
The older I become, the more sanguine I get about capital punishment. Corruption from top to bottom in the judical system and in law enforcement is what gives me pause. (Federal district judges making national policy, Karen Read framed for the murder of her cop boyfriend by the local DA, Massachusetts State Police, and local LEOs). That said, this perp *wanted* to be executed, so the state obliged him.
Good question. I know it takes 20 minutes after a hanging to be declared, by way of no heartbeat ... the body wants so very much to live.
I didn’t see mention of the ex-girlfriend getting any time, she played a huge part using drugs, hitting him and calling the other guy to get rid of him.
week old nothing story
“Does it normally take that long for someone to die via lethal injection?”
I wouldn’t think so : 1st drug sedates, 2nd stops breathing, 3rd stops heart.
probably the total time for the whole evolution
It doesn't make up for his taking a life but the books are balanced now. Justice was served.
Anything beyond that is up to him and God.
More states are giving themselves the option of firing squad executions. They are inexpensive, difficult to appeal, and any LEO can be on the squad. Currently, five US states – Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah – allow execution by firing squad, either as a primary or secondary method.
But the means and duration can be varied by the executioner's skill and timing. Weight, height, rope type and length, knot placement, rate of trap drop...all of which should be tailored to reflect the horror of their crime. Some get the merciful quick snap and others should dance and gurgle as long as possible while their faces reflect the diversity rainbow of darkening colors.
It's an art and I volunteer my services when they start processing the 2020 usurpers after their trials.
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