Aaron Gunches has fought for his own execution for years. Arizona is about to oblige him.

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Aaron Gunches has been fighting to be executed for over a decade.

The 53-year-old Arizona death row inmate has always his admitted to murdering his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend in the desert in 2002, and has long sought a swift execution, saying in one handwritten court filing that he wanted it to move forward "so that justice may be lawfully served and give closure to the victim's family."

Gunches most recently waived his right for a clemency hearing, one of his last chances for a reprieve before his execution by lethal injection on Wednesday. Now 23 years after the crime, the path is clear for Gunches to finally get what he wants: his execution.

Gunches will be the first inmate executed in Arizona in three years and either the seventh or eighth inmate executed in the U.S. this year, depending on whether a controversial nitrogen gas execution moves forward in Louisiana on Tuesday.

Here's what you need to know about the Gunches case and his victim.

What is Aaron Gunches convicted of?

Gunches pleaded guilty to killing Ted Price, who was the former longtime partner of Gunches' girlfriend.

Price had moved to Arizona in 2002 and was waiting on a college grant to become a radiology technician. He intended to stay with his ex but upon arriving, Price found that she was living in a flop house for drug addicts in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, Price's family told Paste BN.

On Nov. 14, 2002, Price and his ex began arguing and it got increasingly heated, ending when she hit Price with a telephone, according to court records.

Gunches arrived at the apartment later that evening, directed the woman's roommates to put Price and his belongings in her car to take him to the bus station. But Gunches didn't end up having money for a bus ticket, so he and one of the roommates then drove Price out of Mesa, according to court records.

When they reached a desolate desert area, Gunches and Price got out of the car, and Gunches shot Price four times, one of the roommates told investigators. Gunches and the roommate returned to Mesa, only stopping once to dispose of Price's belongings in a dumpster, according to court records. Price's body was discovered days later.

On Jan. 15, 2003, Gunches was arrested in La Paz County after shooting an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer during a traffic stop, according to the Parker Pioneer. The officer survived.

Gunches fled the scene, leading to a multi-agency search that lasted about 15 hours, according to the outlet.

Investigators matched the bullets used in the La Paz County shooting with those used in Price's death, court records show.

Who was Ted Price?

Price was a quiet but kind person who loved cats and muscle cars, his family told Paste BN.

Price was a stay-at-home dad to his ex-girlfriend's two children for 10 years before their separation, according to his sister, Karen Price.

He had begun studying to become a radiology technician in Utah after the breakup and was to continue that education in Arizona.

"What we know for sure is that Ted did not do anything to deserve being murdered," Price told Paste BN.

Gunches advocates for his own execution

Gunches pleaded guilty to kidnapping and first-degree murder in Price's killing in 2004 and consistently waived his right to an attorney, mitigation evidence and post-conviction litigation.

During his sentencing, Gunches told jurors: "Do what you’re going to do," according to the Arizona Mirror. The presiding judge commented that Gunches was "committing suicide by jury."

The Arizona Supreme Court voided the original death sentence in 2010, saying that the state did not provide enough evidence to support the jury's finding that Gunches acted with a "necessary vile state of mind."

Marci Kratter, a Phoenix lawyer appointed to be Gunches advisory counsel while he represented himself in court, told the Mirror that she and Gunches fought during trial, adding: "He did nothing to help himself."

In 2018, Gunches wrote the first of five letters to then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich asking to be executed, according to one of his handwritten motions.

Most recently in December, Gunches asked to be executed on Valentine's Day and accused the state of pointless "foot-dragging," according to his court filing. The Arizona Supreme Court refused.

Gunches execution demands ran into state lethal injection problems

Gunches' execution will be the first in the state since 2022.

The state struggled to insert IVs for three lethal injection executions that year: those of Clarence Dixon, Frank Atwood and Murray Hooper.

Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes, both Democrats, suspended capital punishment in 2023 for a review of Arizona's death penalty process.

Hobbs ended the review process late last year, and Mayes announced she was pursuing Gunches' execution.

State officials have said there will now be additional members on the execution team, including a phlebotomist. During previous executions, the IV team was sometimes staffed with corrections officers. 

Contributing: Jimmy Jenkins - The Arizona Republic