53-year-old convicted killer Aaron Brian Gunches was executed via lethal injection earlier this week, and his final meal has been revealed.
Gunches was convicted for the first-degree murder of his girlfriend's ex-husband, Ted Price, in 2002.
He pleaded guilty to the charges he faced in 2007 and was subsequently put on death row.
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He was put to death on March 19, 2025, and medics pronounced him dead at 10:33 am local time. Before receiving the injection, he was asked if he had any final words, but the prisoner made it clear that he had nothing more to say.
The 53-year-old previously submitted a handwritten motion to the state of Arizona to 'have his long overdue sentence carried out'.
For his final meal, Gunches had a double western bacon cheeseburger, two sandwiches, french fries, onion rings, and baklava for dessert.
Deputy director of Arizona’s Department of Corrections John Barcello spoke to news outlets after Gunches' death and said ‘by all accounts, the process went according to plan without incident’.
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Reporter Troy Hayden, of 12 News KPNX, was also present, and said there was no wincing or anything of that nature when Gunches was put to death.
However, Dale Baich, a former federal public defender who teaches death penalty law at Arizona State University, has argued that while it may have looked peaceful, the process would not have been.
Once he'd been injected with the substance that would end his life, Gunches took a few heavy breaths, then let out a snoring sound.
Baich explained that this snoring noise could have been as a result of pulmonary edema, which is when fluid seeps into the lungs and effectively causes drowning.
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Witnesses who were at Gunches execution have also spoken out and said what they saw.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the death of Gunches brought 'closure' for Price's family.
Price's sister Karen Price also explained that she still feels the pain of losing her brother.
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She said: “I’d like to imagine we would be both enjoying our retirement and perhaps planning a trip together, rather than me coming here to witness the execution of a man that took his life.
“Although we’ve taken the final step in the legal process, the pain of losing Ted remains profound and cannot be conveyed in mere words. It is a relief that we no longer have to deal with lawyers, sift through documents, check prison records, or communicate with victims’ advocates or reporters."
Gerrard Kaonga