Arizona Man Executed for 2002 Murder by Lethal Injection

An Arizona man named Leroy Dean McGill was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday. This marked the first of three scheduled executions in the United States this week. McGill was executed at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence for the 2002 murder of James Perez.

The execution process began at around 10:26 a.m. PDT, and McGill was pronounced dead shortly after receiving a lethal injection. Witnesses reported that McGill remained calm during the procedure. According to The Associated Press, before the execution started, McGill addressed the witnesses with a smile, nodding and saying, “I’m going home soon.”

The lethal injection used pentobarbital, a powerful sedative. Witnesses described hearing a snoring sound as McGill’s breathing became heavy. He was declared dead approximately 21 minutes after the procedure began, following the insertion of the IV lines, which reportedly went smoothly this time.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry confirmed the execution process went as planned. Sean Rice, a media witness, noticed a minor twitch on the right side of McGill’s head about four minutes before he was pronounced dead. McGill’s final words were words of gratitude towards those present.

Earlier in 2004, a jury had convicted McGill in less than an hour for first-degree murder for setting James Perez on fire. He was also found guilty of attempted murder for assaulting Nova Banta, Perez’s girlfriend, plus arson and endangerment charges related to the fire spreading to a neighboring residence. Despite his defense attorneys’ efforts to highlight his difficult childhood and mental deficiencies, the jury sentenced him to death.

Leading up to the execution, McGill’s legal team attempted to reopen the sentencing phase to halt the execution, but both a lower court judge and the Arizona Supreme Court denied these requests. McGill did not seek clemency and declined an interview with The Associated Press.

McGill was the 12th person executed in the U.S. this year. In recent years, Arizona has resumed executions after an eight-year hiatus due to issues with lethal injection drugs and controversies over prior botched procedures. Arizona’s current protocol involves the use of two syringes of pentobarbital. With McGill’s execution, there are now 108 inmates on death row in the state.