Arizona Capital Representation Project

Today the State of Arizona executed our client, Aaron Gunches. Mr. Gunches sought his own execution and wanted to die, however, he was not the “worst of the worst” and he deserved to live. The State and the courts allowed Mr. Gunches to short-circuit the legal appeals process required in capital cases. This undermined the reliability of his conviction and sentence and introduced arbitrariness into the capital punishment system. The current administration hand-selected Mr. Gunches as their first target knowing that, as a volunteer, he would not challenge the highly problematic execution process or drug supply. The people of Arizona deserve greater transparency and accountability from their leaders. 

The state’s long history of execution cover-ups continues as Gov. Katie Hobbs scuttled her own transparency effort