A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge will determine if more time is needed or if an evidentiary hearing is necessary in a dispute over the Governor’s refusal to carry out the execution of Aaron Gunches.
Gunches was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of Ted Price, a former longtime boyfriend of Gunches’ girlfriend. Gunches kidnapped and shot Price multiple times in a desert area off the Beeline Highway.
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a warrant that authorized the governor to execute Gunches on April 6, but Gov. Katie Hobbs has pledged not to carry it out pending a review of the execution process.
Judge Frank Moskowitz scheduled the hearing in response to a complaint from the Price family, who claim the governor’s refusal to act on a warrant for Gunches’ execution amounts to a denial of their rights as crime victims as guaranteed in the Arizona Constitution.