After more than two decades since the crime was committed, Arizona is prepared to resume its utilization of the death penalty with the execution of Aaron Brian Gunches, sentenced for the 2002 murder of Ted Price. According to a report from FOX 10 Phoenix, Gunches fatally shot Price, the ex-husband of his girlfriend at the time, and his execution is Arizona's first since late 2022, marking a significant moment for the state.

Gunches was pulled over by a Department of Public Safety officer in January 2003 near the California state line, leading to his arrest after the officer was shot but saved by a bulletproof vest, bullet casings from that shooting were found to match those near Price’s body. Gunches pleaded guilty in 2007 to the charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder, and despite a complicated legal journey that involved a re-sentencing and withdrawal of his own request for an execution warrant, his date with death was confirmed for March 19, per a report by AP.

The execution, which was initially set for April 2023 but later delayed, will see Gunches receive lethal injection, the state-mandated method for crimes committed after November 23, 1992. Governor Katie Hobbs, who had previously called for a review of Arizona's death penalty protocols, made changes to the death penalty procedures but ultimately did not stop the scheduled execution. Gunches will be the first person executed in a state governed by a Democrat since Virginia in 2017, aligning with a week where three other US states have scheduled executions, as informed by AP News.

The victim's sister, Karen Price, remembered Ted Price as a "kind and loving person," devastated by his sudden death. Gunches, seeking closure, initially tried to speed up his own execution, though he later recanted, as per AP News.