Arizona prepares to administer its first execution since 2019, breaking a hiatus of more than two years, with the lethal injection of Aaron Gunches set for tomorrow. Gunches was convicted in the 2002 murder of Ted Price and later for shooting an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper in 2003, who survived, tying the two crimes together with matching bullet casings found at both scenes, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
As the date approaches Karen Price, the victim's sister, is gearing up for a journey from the East Coast to Arizona to witness Gunches's execution not because she harbors vengeance, but because it's a duty felt towards her family, an obligation tinged with the weight of representation, her devotion expressed in the simplicity of her determination, "I feel like I have to see this through, I have to be there for Ted. Representing the family for this last action," as she confided in a 12 News interview.
Despite a temporary cessation of executions under the new Attorney General Kris Mayes and a review initiated by Governor Katie Hobbs, the state's Supreme Court has cleared the way for Gunches' execution, as laid out by FOX 10 Phoenix. Gunches had initially requested his own death warrant but later withdrew it, seemingly unaware of the newly elected Attorney General's stance on executing death row inmates.
Karen Price reflects a somber, if strong visage set against the public discourse on capital punishment, her stance grounded in the harrowing journey she's trekked since her brother's murder, and while acknowledging the complexity of the issue she poses a challenge to those on the other side of the death penalty debate, "Walk a mile in my shoes," according to her statement to 12 News.
