PHOENIX — A prisoner scheduled to be executed next week in what would be Arizona’s first use of the death penalty in over two years will not ask for a reprieve from his death sentence.
Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, is not expected to participate in a hearing Monday before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, which will note on the record that he has waived his right to ask for relief.
He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on March 19 for his murder conviction in the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, near the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
Aaron Brian Gunches.Arizona Department of Corrections / AP
Gunches, who isn’t a lawyer but is representing himself, made an unsuccessful bid late last year to skip legal formalities and schedule his execution earlier than authorities were aiming for. His death sentence was “long overdue,” Gunches told Arizona’s highest court, which rejected the request.
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In a Feb. 20 filing, Gunches said he didn’t want to be present at Monday’s hearing and noted he made a brief virtual appearance earlier before the board to confirm a clemency waiver he made in 2022.
“My position has not changed,” Gunches wrote in the recent filing.
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a death warrant for Gunches nearly two years ago, but the sentence wasn’t carried out because the state’s Democratic attorney general agreed not to pursue executions during a review of the state’s death penalty protocol. The review ended in November when Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs dismissed the retired federal magistrate judge she had appointed to examine execution procedures.
Arizona, which has 112 prisoners on death row, last carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because of difficulties obtaining drugs for execution.
Since then, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert an IV for lethal injection into a condemned prisoner.
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One significant change made by corrections officials was forming a new, larger team to insert IVs into condemned prisoners after the state had been criticized for taking too long to insert IVs into prisoners.
The Arizona Legislature is considering a proposal aimed at changing the state’s method of execution. If approved by lawmakers, the proposal would ask voters in 2026 to replace lethal injection with a firing squad.
Currently, Arizona death row prisoners whose crimes occurred before Nov. 23, 1992, can choose between lethal injection or the gas chamber, which was refurbished in late 2020 since it was last used for an execution in 1999.
Under current law, those who decline to make the choice or whose crimes occurred after the November 1992 date are to be executed by lethal injection. The proposed ballot measure would keep lethal gas as one of Arizona’s two execution methods for those whose crimes occurred before the 1992 date.
Former Michigan sophomore defenseman Hunter Hady has transferred to Arizona State, according to an announcement on the team Instagram. The 6’4’’ defenseman will join the Sun Devils for his junior year.
Hady played just two games on Michigan’s blue line this season against Harvard in November and against Bentley in the NCAA regional semifinal. He recorded a secondary assist on junior forward Garrett Schifsky’s goal in the Bentley game for his only point of the year.
Hady’s contributions were more substantive in his freshman season — though his point total remained the same. He played 32 games for Michigan as the team struggled to find defensive pairings that worked throughout the year. Hady was a reliable blue line presence who could be counted on to provide solid defense and not make significant errors.
Prior to playing for the Wolverines, Hady spent three seasons with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he played with current Michigan teammates senior defenseman Luca Fantilli, sophomore forward Michael Hage and junior forward Jayden Perron, among others. He joins an Arizona State team that lost ground in the NCHC this season and is looking to reach a Frozen Four for the second time in its program history.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Jessica Cox, the world’s first licensed armless airplane pilot and a leading advocate for disability-led innovation, will be inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame on Friday, May 15, 2026. The induction ceremony, hosted by Rightfooted Foundation International in collaboration with the Pima Air & Space Museum, will take place at the museum from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Cox’s recognition honors both her historic achievement in flight and her ongoing work expanding access and opportunity for people without arms. Through her leadership at Rightfooted Foundation International (RFI), Cox has championed mentorship, education and practical innovations that help aspiring pilots and families reimagine what’s possible in aviation and beyond.
“Saying I’m proud of her can’t fully encompass what I feel,” said Patrick Chamberlain, Cox’s husband and RFI’s Inclusive Engineering Director. “Jessica’s induction into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame recognizes both what she has accomplished and what she continues to do. She has helped shed light on the many pilots with disabilities in aviation and shown the world that disability does not mean inability.”
The 2026 induction class also honors two military aviators: Frank Schiel Jr., a Phoenix-born Flying Tigers veteran credited with seven enemy aircraft destroyed in World War II, and James K. Johnson, a Phoenix-born U.S. Air Force colonel and Korean War double ace credited with ten aerial victories.
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The Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame, established in 1985 and housed in the Dorothy Finley Aerospace Gallery at Pima Air & Space Museum, pays tribute to Arizonans who have made significant contributions to aviation and aerospace history.
Since the Arizona Cardinals want to trade back from the No. 3 picks, here are three deals that could work.
The Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which begins this week on Thursday. All the reports coming out are saying that they want to trade out of the pick to acquire more draft picks.
But what does a trade look like and who could be involved?
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The Kansas City Chiefs are involved in talks at some level. ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects trade talks to heat up this week.
NFL teams use a variation of a trade value chart when it comes to draft picks. Now, what a team actually is willing to give up can be influenced by potential competition with other teams, but we can’t count on that.
Here is the general trade value chart teams use.
Here are some potential deals that could be done.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have two first-round picks, which would be appealing to the Cardinals, who reportedly want to make a move for quarterback Ty Simpson, and the 29th pick might be just the spot to get him.
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The third overall pick is worth 514 points.
The Chiefs’ picks at No. 9 (387 points) and No. 29 (202 points) together are worth 589.
To make up the difference, the Cardinals could give up No. 65 (78 points) for a total of 592 points.
One deal could be:
Cardinals receive get No. 9 and No. 29 (589 points)
Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 65 (592 points)
Another could be:
Cardinals receive No. 9, No. 29, No. 74 and 2027 third-round pick (653 points + value of future third-round pick, which is 36-78 points)
Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 34 (689 points)
The Cardinals keep their third-round pick and the Chiefs essentially move back five spots from No. 29.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks but no pick in the second round.
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Pick No. 12 is 347 points and No. 20 is 269 for a total of 616.
This deal is close:
Cardinals receive No. 12, No. 20 (616 points)
Cowboys receive No. 3, No. 65 (592 points)
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are perhaps a dark horse to move up, although they do not have two first-round picks. They have the No. 8 pick, worth 406 points. Their second-round pick, at No. 42, is worth 142 points.
This deal could work:
Cardinals receive No. 8, No. 42 (548 points)
Saints receive No. 3, No. 104 (547 points)
Then the Cardinals could use their two second-round picks to then move back into Round 1 to get Ty Simpson.
They could trade No. 34, No. 42 and No. 65 (395 points) for No. 28, No. 38 and No. 106 (398 total points).
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
