MESA, AZ — Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, was executed Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, near Mesa.
Gunches previously said that his death sentence was “long overdue,” fighting in recent years to speed up the process as fast as possible. He also recently passed up a chance to ask for a reprieve from his death sentence.
Prison officials confirmed the execution of Gunches was carried out successfully within minutes and "went according to...policy and procedure." He was officially pronounced dead at 10:33 a.m.
Officials say his last meal was a bacon cheeseburger, gyro, onion rings, and baklava.
Gunches reportedly shook his head, as if to say "no," when asked if he had any last words. Witnesses noted in a news conference after the execution that Gunches did not show any signs of discomfort or pain during the procedure. He displayed a few deep breaths and a "slight wince." A witness said two IVs were inserted in his arms, which appeared to be different from the lethal injections he witnessed in the past, which involved an IV inserted into the leg.
Another witness, who has been a media witness to numerous executions, described Wednesday's process as one of the "smoothest" executions he has seen.
Officials and witnesses, including ABC15 reporter Ashley Holden, recounted their experiences and what they saw following the execution:
Dale A. Baich, a legal representative for Gunches, provided the following statement to ABC15 following the execution:
“The witnesses did not see what happened under the jumpsuit and sheet. We know from scientific studies that rapid administration of a high dose of pentobarbital is excruciatingly painful. Pulmonary edema develops in seconds as the lungs fill with water and one is not able to breathe. There is a sensation of drowning from within and not being able to do anything about it. It is like being waterboarded to death.
“The eight deep breaths and chest heaving, the gurgling sounds, and Mr. Gunches trying to catch his breath, are all signs of pulmonary edema. Even though it may have looked peaceful, it was not.”
Outside the prison in Florence Wednesday morning, a small group of people gathered to protest the execution.
5 people are standing outside the Arizona State Prison to protest the execution of Aaron Gunches…AZ’s first execution in 2+ years https://t.co/xIwvh5c4jd @abc15 pic.twitter.com/8m1OGMAhyY
— Adam Mintzer (@adammintzer) March 19, 2025
"The family of Ted Price has been waiting for justice for more than two decades," Attorney General Kris Mayes said of the execution.
In January, ABC15 spoke with the victim's family, who said they wanted the sentence to be carried out.
“This is not fun. This is not exciting. I’m not jubilant, but I’m happy to have this behind me,” Karen Price, Ted's sister, told ABC15's Ashley Holden before the execution. “I don’t want people to think I’m rooting for a person to die, but this is the punishment that the state of Arizona gave him. I’m just here to witness the final step in the execution of Arizona’s law.”
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a death warrant for Gunches nearly two years ago, but the sentence wasn’t carried out because Governor Katie Hobbs said the state wasn't ready. Instead, Gov. Hobbs ordered a review of the state’s death penalty protocol. The review ended in November when Democratic Gov. Hobbs dismissed the retired federal magistrate judge she had appointed to examine execution procedures.
Arizona, which has 112 prisoners on death row, had last carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched because of difficulties obtaining drugs for execution.
Since then, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert an IV for lethal injection into a condemned prisoner.
One significant change made by corrections officials was forming a new, larger team to insert IVs into condemned prisoners.
RELATED: History of pauses on executions in Arizona since 2014
The Arizona Legislature is considering a proposal aimed at changing the state’s main method of execution. If approved by lawmakers, the proposal would ask voters in 2026 to replace lethal injection with a firing squad.
Currently, Arizona death row prisoners whose crimes occurred before Nov. 23, 1992, can choose between lethal injection or the gas chamber, which was refurbished in late 2020 since it was last used for an execution in 1999.
Under current law, those who decline to make the choice or whose crimes occurred after the November 1992 date are to be executed by lethal injection. The proposed ballot measure would keep lethal gas as one of Arizona’s two execution methods for those whose crimes occurred before the 1992 date.
