Death Row Inmate Submits Handwritten Petition to State Supreme Court
Governor Cites "Lack of Preparation"... Execution Delayed for Two Years
A death row inmate in the United States has requested the Supreme Court to carry out his execution early.
On the 7th of last month (local time), The Washington Post reported that death row inmate Aaron Gunchis (53) submitted a handwritten petition to the Arizona Supreme Court on December 31 last year, demanding that his execution be carried out on February 14, stating, "The execution should not be delayed any longer."
Gunchis was charged with first-degree murder after kidnapping Ted Price, the ex-husband of his then-girlfriend, and shooting him dead in the middle of the desert in Mesa, Arizona, in November 2002. He was sentenced to death in the first trial in 2008, but the verdict was overturned in the 2010 appeal. The death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2016.
In his petition, Gunchis criticized the state government for "delaying by using legal procedures as an excuse" and asserted, "I hope the law is upheld and justice is served."
Originally, Gunchis's execution was scheduled for April 2023. However, then-Governor Katie Hobbs postponed the execution for two years, citing "lack of testing and preparation" of the drug pentobarbital used for the execution.
Arizona had suspended executions for eight years after an incident in 2014 where Joseph Wood, during his execution, suffered for two hours after the drug was administered. In three other executions carried out in 2022, there were complications such as difficulty finding veins to inject the lethal drugs.
In response, Governor Hobbs in 2023 stated, "There needs to be confidence that executions can be carried out without violating the law," and established a review committee to re-examine execution policies and related regulations. Since then, no executions have been carried out in the state.
Gunchis also requested a speedy execution of his sentence in November 2022. At that time, he said, "The sentence must be carried out so that the victim's family can bring closure to the case."
Seven months after Governor Hobbs's review committee was disbanded in November 2023, Gunchis is again strongly requesting the execution of his sentence. The victim's family also demanded prompt execution, stating, "The governor must uphold our constitutional rights to justice and closure of the case."
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that Gunchis is not the only death row inmate to request early execution. However, according to research by the Death Penalty Information Center, 87% of the 165 inmates executed at their own request since 1977 were found to have suffered from mental illness or substance abuse.
Unlike them, Gunchis is known to have been judged capable of standing trial and waiving his right to counsel.
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