An Arizona death row inmate has asked authorities to schedule his execution earlier than the state had planned, the Associated Press reports. Aaron Brian Gunches filed a request with the Arizona Supreme Court this week, urging it to schedule his execution for mid-February. In his file, Aaron Brian Gunches explains that his death sentence is “long overdue”.
The man was originally scheduled to be executed in April 2023. But Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ office said the state was not ready to carry out the death penalty due to staffing shortages qualified to carry out the executions. The Democratic governor had promised not to carry out any executions until the state was sure it could do so under current regulations.
The 53-year-old was convicted of the 2002 murder of a man, the ex-husband of his then-girlfriend, in Mesa, near Phoenix, Arizona. Two years ago, the condemned man had already asked the Supreme Court for a timetable specifying the date of his execution, believing that justice must be done and that the victim’s family could thus turn the page.
-The last execution in Arizona took place in 2022, after a hiatus of more than 8 years. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 out of 50 US states. Moratoriums are also in force in six other states, namely Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Twenty-five executions took place in 2024 in the United States, all at the state level.
Donald Trump, soon to return to the White House, has repeatedly expressed his desire to extend the use of capital punishment, so that it applies to immigrants who have killed American citizens as well as to drug traffickers. drugs and individuals engaged in human trafficking.
