Posted on 10/17/2025 11:40:53 AM PDT by fidelis
FLORENCE, Ariz. — The State of Arizona executed Richard Djerf by lethal injection on Friday at Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence.
When asked if he had any last words, Djerf said he "did not."
Witnesses to the execution said the inmate officially died at about 10:40 a.m. after some time was spent struggling to find a vein on Djerf's arm to insert a needle.
The death penalty comes roughly 30 years after he admitted to killing four members of a Phoenix family.
Court records show Djerf committed the murders for retribution of a "petty theft" of Albert Luna Jr., whose parents and two siblings were killed on Sept. 14, 1993.
Djerf, in recent weeks, expressed remorse for the killings and accepted his fate.
In a letter obtained by The Arizona Republic, he wrote he brutally murdered four innocent people in a cruel, heinous and depraved manner, and was sorry for the harm caused to Albert Luna Jr.
The two were once friends while working as night custodians at a Safeway supermarket.
The victims were Patricia and Albert Luna Sr., 18-year-old Rochelle Luna, and 5-year-old Damien Luna.
The Attorney General's Office said Luna Jr. declined to comment for this story.
Djerf also wrote that he does not want clemency.
Court records show Djerf wanted revenge and was frustrated with the police after Albert Luna Jr., in January 1993, went to Djerf's apartment and stole several items, including some electronic equipment and an AK-47 assault rifle.
Nine months later, Djerf went to the Luna family home and acted as if he were delivering flowers to gain entry.
He then barged into the home and, during the next several hours, tortured and killed the four family members. He also raped Rochelle Luna and repeatedly stabbed her.
On Aug. 16, 1995, Djerf pled guilty to four counts of first-degree murder with no limits on the sentencing. Djerf was also charged with kidnapping, assault, sexual assault, burglary, theft, and attempted arson.
The agreement expressly stated that no limits would be placed on sentencing. In return, the state dropped the other charges.
The following year, a trial court sentenced Djerf to death for each of the four murders.
At sentencing, the superior court found that the convictions qualified Djerf for the death penalty under Arizona law because the crimes were committed in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner; for financial gain; during the commission of other murders; and against a child under the age of fifteen (Damien).
The court also found that Djerf had failed to prove any statutory or non-statutory mitigating factors sufficiently substantial to warrant leniency.
Upon appeal, the state Supreme Court affirmed the conviction on May 21, 1998.
By 2020, Djerf had exhausted all his state and federal appeals to challenge his sentences. The state's motion for a warrant of execution was filed in July.
The execution will be the second this year, after Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2023 paused executions after critics said the executions of Joseph Wood, Clarence Dixon and Murray Hooper were botched.
The execution is also one of several across the nation during a roughly one-week period.
“We are seeing an unusual week this week with the number of executions," said Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C. "I think it’s largely a coincidence. It does bring attention back to the death penalty and to the secrecy and the cost and the pain that some of these executions will bring.”
Maher runs a non-profit organization that compiles data and analysis of capital punishment.
Arizona has had the death penalty since 1865, and lethal injection has been the primary method of execution since 1992, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
"Arizona does not have a terrific history with its execution protocols. There is too much secrecy," Maher said. "The public really doesn’t understand what’s being done in its name, and we’ve seen a number of very seriously botched executions in the past.”
After changes in training, staffing and procurement of drugs for lethal injections, executions resumed this year, according to the state officials.
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry said it's confident in both the quality and quantity of its pentobarbital supply used for the execution.
On March 19, the state executed Aaron Gunches.
The IV process began at 10:04 a.m., and Gunches' death was recorded at 10:33, ADCRR Deputy Director John Barcello said following the execution.
"By all accounts, the process went according to plan," Barcello said.
After DJerf's execution, state records show there will be 107 inmates on Death Row in Arizona. Three are women.
Under Arizona law, once a person's conviction and death sentence have been affirmed and no further legal challenges remain, the Supreme Court must issue a warrant when the State requests one. The Court has now fulfilled that legal obligation.
Vice Chief Justice John R. Lopez IV and Justice James P. Beene recused and did not participate in the determination of this matter.
After DJerf's execution, state records show there will be 107 inmates on Death Row in Arizona. Three are women.
32 years later !!!
WTH!!!!
should have been within an HOUR of guilty!!!!!
Goodness! Just shoot them in the head.
Did they sterilize the injection site with alcohol first? Can’t risk infection!
32 years of prison food!
Why the rush?
30 years of cruel punishment waiting for his sentence.
EC
Can’t botch a nitrogen “penalty”.
He has been rewarded with 30+ years of extra unearned life for a quadruple murder. The answer to this travesty is the Short Life Sentence. Jail for 30, 60 or 90 days waiting for the end of the sentence. That would give the perp sufficient time to repent his sins and get right with God before he gets with perdition.
ABOUT HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO INCARCERATE A PRISONER FOR 30 YEARS +++
CHANGE DAYS TO MINUTES
the cruel punishment was experienced by the victims relatives who had to live 30+ years without justice.
Probably close to a couple of million dollars, maybe more.
Depends which state and other matters. A better guess is between $1 million and $2 million, on average.
Good grief- how many pets are euthanized daily? Just let a vet handle things, sheesh.
They always have to rape....murder isn’t good enough......
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